Division. 


c 

jt-/ 


I A 15 


Section 


•  A  A  2. 5 


Practical  Lectures  on 
the  Book  of  Job 


AN  EXPOSITORY  AND  HOMILETICAL 

STUDY 


%  . 

FRANK  E.  ALLEN 


Pastor ,  Reformed  Presbyterian  Churchy 
Winnipeg ,  Canada. 


New  York  Chicago 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1923,  by 
FRANK  E.  ALLEN 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  75  Princes  Street 


Dedicated  to  the  memory 
of  my  mother 
GRACE  AEEEN 

who  though  called  to  her  eternal  reward 
during  the  years  of  my  boyhood,  her 
godly  life  and  parting  advice  have  left 
a  never-fading  impression,  which  has 
ever  been  an  inspiration  in  my  life  and 
ministry. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


► 


https://archive.org/details/practicallectureOOalle 


Author’s  Foreword 


THE  lectures  which  follow  the  introduction  have 
been  delivered  to  my  congregation  from  week 
to  week.  I  have  not  attempted  a  critical  exe¬ 
gesis  except  in  a  few  passages:  but  have  endeavoured 
to  deal  with  the  problem  of  the  Book,  call  attention  to 
the  outstanding  features  of  the  various  characters,  deal 
with  their  arguments  in  such  a  way  as  to  furnish  a 
summary  of  their  philosophies  and  distinguish  between 
them,  present  a  sufficient  exposition  of  difficult  pas¬ 
sages  to  clarify  their  meaning,  and  apply  its  lessons  in 
a  practical  manner. 

Though  many  scholarly  expositions  of  the  Book  of 
Job  have  been  produced,  there  still  seems  to  be  a  place 
for  one  which  deals  primarily  with  its  salient  points, 
and  brings  out  its  lessons  in  a  clear,  constructive  and 
faithful  manner.  This  I  have  endeavoured  to  do :  very 
imperfectly  it  is  true;  yet  with  the  hope  that  it  may 
interest  devout  Christians  who  peruse  it ;  enlarge  their 
appreciation  of  the  depths  of  wisdom  hidden  within 
the  Book;  and  above  all,  glorify  the  God  who  alone 
could  sustain  its  hero  amidst  his  prolonged  trials,  to 
whom  all  of  every  age  must  turn  for  faith  and  strength 
in  their  temptations  and  sorrows  until  time  shall  be 
no  more. 

F.  E.  A. 

Winnipeg,  Canada. 


5 


( 


Contents 


I.  Introduction . 9 

II.  The  Ideal  Home . 30 

Chap,  i:  /-5 

III.  The  Wreck  oe  the  Ideal  Home  .  .  45 

Chap,  i :  6-22 

IV.  Left  to  Satan  But  Not  Forsaken  .  60 

Chap.  2 :  i- 1 3 

V.  The  Depths  of  Satan  .  .  .  .72 

Chap.  2: 2 

VI.  The  Ministry  of  Suffering  .  .  85 

Chap.  3: 1-26 

VII.  Eliphaz  the  Mystic  .  .  .  .97 

Chaps.  4,  5,  15 ,  ^ 

VIII.  Weary  of  Life  Yet  Trusting  in  God  .  110 
Chaps.  7:  1-6,  17;  13:15 

IX.  Bildad:  The  Pitfalls  of  the  Tra¬ 
ditionalist  . 122 

Chaps.  8,  18,  25 

X.  How  Be  Just  with  God?  .  .  .  131 

Chap.  9:1-33 

XI.  How  May  We  Know  God?  .  .  .  144 

Chap.  11:7-9 

XII.  Zophar  the  Dogmatist  .  .  .  161 

Chaps.  11,  20 


7 


8 


CONTENTS 


XIII. 

XIV. 
XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 


The  Deception  of  Conceit  .  .  171 

Chap.  12 :  2 

God  the  Strength  of  the  Nations  .  180 
Chap.  12: 10-25 

The  Patriarchae  View  of  Immor¬ 
tality  . 207 

Chaps.  14: 14;  19:  25-2 7 

Wisdom  in  Comforters  .  .  .221 

Chap.  16:2 

The  Opportune  Time  to  Seek  God  .  232 
Chap.  19:6-10 


The  Redeemer  Our  Hope  .  .  .  242 

Chap.  19:  25 

The  Source  of  True  Wisdom  .  .251 

Chap.  28: 12-28 


Unforeseen  Limitations  of  Pros¬ 
perity  . 259 

Chap.  29: 18 

A  Reasonable  Reasoner  .  .  .271 

Chaps.  32-57 


The  Great  Arbiter 
Chaps.  38-42 

True  Repentance 
Chap.  42:6 


.  280 
.  292 


1 


I 

INTRODUCTION 


JOB  A  GENUINE  CHARACTER 

THAT  Job  was  a  real  character  is  evident  from 
the  nature  and  composition  of  the  Book.  Ex¬ 
cept  as  one  is  endeavouring  to  work  out  a  pre¬ 
conceived  theory  there  is  no  inclination  to  look  upon 
the  Book  as  an  allegory.  The  prophet  Ezekiel 1  re¬ 
garded  Job  as  a  real,  historical  character,  as  truly  as 
he  did  Noah  or  Daniel.  The  New  Testament  writer, 
James,  also  spoke  of  him  as  an  historical  person. 
Some  critics  have  denied  the  literal  historical  character 
of  the  Book  on  the  ground  that  the  arguments  pre¬ 
sented  could  not  have  been  so  well  written  and  ar¬ 
ranged  under  the  conditions,  and  in  so  short  a  time. 
Such  critics  could  scarcely  admit  that  a  present-day 
poet  like  Edgar  A.  Guest  could  write  a  respectable  poem 
each  day  and  keep  it  up  month  after  month.  Hebrew 
poetry  does  not  possess  rhyme  or  rhythm  and  is  there¬ 
fore  not  so  difficult  to  compose  as  modern  poetry.  The 
speakers  in  the  drama  of  Job  were  not  hurried  in  the 
preparation  or  delivery  of  their  arguments.  Before 
they  spoke  a  word  to  Job,  they  sat  down  with  him 
seven  days.  They  were  probably  thinking  of  what 
they  would  say  at  the  opportune  time.  Let  us  re¬ 
member  that  these  men  represent  the  best  of  their 
generation ;  men  of  culture,  sobriety,  wisdom  and 
experience. 


1  Ezekiel  15:14,  20. 


9 


10 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  PEACE  WHERE  HE  RIVED 
Ancient  places  are  often  difficult  to  locate  on  the 
modern  map.  This  is  true  of  the  land  of  Uz.  It  was 
a  general  name  for  the  Syro-Arabian  desert :  that  ter¬ 
ritory  which  lay  east  of  Palestine  and  north  of  Edom. 
There  are  many  traditions  concerning  the  home  of 
Job.  There  are  said  to  be  six  different  tombs  which 
are  declared  to  be  his.  One  tradition  which  has  been 
elaborately  discussed  by  J.  G.  Wetzstein,  and  accepted 
by  Delitzsch,  places  the  home  of  Job  in  Hauran,  the 
land  of  Bashan,  between  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  Da¬ 
mascus.  This  theory  has  not  received  a  wide  accept¬ 
ance  among  scholars.  Professor  Buttenwieser  thinks 
that,  “  all  doubt  about  the  location  of  Uz  has  been  re¬ 
moved  since  Musil  identified  the  place  some  thirty  years 
ago.  He  found  the  ruin  elTs  north  of  Petra,  in  the 
same  locality  where,  according  to  Eusebius,  Onomas- 
ticon,  had  stood  Ausitis,  as  Uz  is  called  in  the  Greek 
'Version.”  2  R.  A.  Watson  thinks  the  conditions  have 
been  fully  met  in  the  valley  or  oasis  of  Jauf,  lying  in 
the  north  Arabian  desert  about  two  hundred  miles  east 
of  the  modern  Maan  and  the  ruins  of  Petra.  It  is  a 
broad,  deep  valley  and  very  fertile.  It  is  a  valley  which 
is  generally  safe  from  roving  tribes,  and  yet  exposed 
to  those  of  the  east  and  south  which  might  make  long 
expeditions  under  the  pressure  of  great  need.3  This 
explanation  seems  quite  plausible.  We  are  not  war¬ 
ranted  in  dwelling  upon  this  subject  because  the  exact 
location  of  Uz  is  not  important.  This  much,  however, 
is  apparent,  that  it  was,  in  the  days  of  Job,  a  fertile 
spot  whose  inhabitants  were  prosperous.  It  was  a 
district  which  lay  in  the  way  of  the  caravans  of  Sheba 

2  The  Book  of  Job.  Buttenwieser,  p.  1SS. 

3  The  Expositor’s  Bible,  Job,  pp.  20-22. 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


and  Tema,  and  which  was  exposed  to  the  lawless  bands 
of  the  Chaldeans  and  Sabeans.  The  residence  of  Job 
was  in,  or  near  a  city,  at  the  gate  of  which  he  sat  with 
the  elders,  to  administer  justice. 

ANTIQUITY  OF  THE)  BOOK 

This  is  an  important  point,  and  one  concerning 
which  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  discussion. 
Formerly  it  was  generally  accepted  that  the  Book  if 
not  the  most  ancient,  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  of 
the  Scriptures.  Later  commentators  have  assigned  to 
it  a  much  later  date,  varying  from  the  time  of  Solomon 
to  the  Exile.  Some  have  attempted,  arbitrarily,  to  fit 
it  into  their  own  modern  mold.  Their  objections  may 
be  summed  up  under  two  points.  First:  The  Book 
exhibits  such  a  splendid  degree  of  composition,  literary 
finish,  culture  and  dramatic  excellence,  as  to  render  it 
impossible  to  assign  it  to  a  date  earlier  than  the  time 
of  Solomon,  because  the  development  of  the  race  pre¬ 
vious  to  that  time  produced  no  one  capable  of  writing 
it.  Secondly:  The  theological  views  concerning  God, 
sin,  life,  immortality,  redemption  and  the  resurrection, 
are  so  clear  and  true,  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  date 
the  Book  earlier  than  the  time  of  Solomon,  inasmuch 
as  the  race  previous  to  that  time  could  not  grasp  such 
advanced  views  of  theology.  Such  reasoning  is,  first, 
rationalistic  in  its  nature.  It  limits  God  in  the  opera¬ 
tions  of  revelation  and  inspiration,  to  what  the  human 
mind  can  grasp  by  reason  alone.  Secondly,  it  is  untrue 
to  fact,  because  even  the  ancient  Egyptians  believed  in 
immortality,  and  looked  for  a  deliverer  to  redeem  them 
from  sin  and  death.  The  idea  which  generally  under¬ 
lies  the  effort  to  prove  the  Book  to  be  of  a  late  date  is 
of  a  rationalistic  evolutionary  nature,  which  looks  upon 


12 


INTRODUCTION 


man  in  the  patriarchal  period  as  incapable  of  under¬ 
standing  the  deep  things  of  theology.  Such  argu¬ 
ments,  because  they  are  so  prevalent,  need  careful 
consideration. 

It  is  somewhat  natural  that  one  who  is  considering 
the  various  periods  of  the  history  of  religion  should 
think  of  the  Exile  as  a  time,  when  from  the  general 
sufferings  of  the  people  of  God,  some  one  would  be 
likely  to  record  the  emotions  of  the  people  in  some¬ 
thing  other  than  prosaic  history,  perhaps  in  a  drama. 
But  the  Book  of  Job  is  not  treating  of  national  suffer¬ 
ing,  at  least  only  incidentally,  and  it  is  well  known  to 
every  student  of  life  that  there  are  individuals  in  every 
period  of  the  history  of  the  world,  who,  because  of 
their  own  personal  or  family  suffering,  have  been  as 
deeply  impressed  with  the  ravages  of  disease,  and  the 
trials  of  faith,  as  though  they  had  seen  the  whole 
nation  suffer  with  them.  This  would  be  true  of  almost 
every  leper  who  lingers  on  in  his  misery  of  personal 
exile.  But  upon  the  very  surface  of  the  Book,  is  it  not 
evident  that  Job  lived  before  the  general  apostasy  of 
the  nations  from  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  the 
true  God:  also,  that  he  lived  at  a  time  when  divine 
knowledge  was  conveyed,  not  by  writing,  but  by 
tradition. 

God  made  man  in  His  own  image.  Though  sin 
marred  that  image,  yet  the  body  of  man  was  able  to 
resist  the  ravages  of  disease;  deterioration  due  to 
labour,  and  decay  due  to  age;  to  a  far  greater  extent 
during  the  first  centuries  of  the  world’s  history.  As 
the  strength  of  mind  and  body  bear  an  unquestionable 
relationship,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  in  the 
days  of  greater  physical  longevity,  the  mentality  of 
man  had  suffered  less  deterioration  due  to  the  dissi- 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


pating  results  of  sin?  Do  we  not,  then,  have  here  the 
solution  of  Noah’s  brilliance  and  achievement  as  an 
architect,  navigator,  economist  and  general  manager 
of  a  great  undertaking,  notwithstanding  the  lack  of 
training  and  precedent  of  his  time  ?  Need  we  then  be 
astonished  at  the  nobility,  mentality,  fidelity,  and 
statesmanship  of  Abraham,  Job  and  Moses,  in  their 
day?  After  generations  of  apostasy  and  sin,  why  set 
it  down  as  a  foregone  conclusion,  that  a  man  at  the 
time  of  Israel’s  Captivity,  would  possess  a  mind  more 
capable  of  producing  the  drama  of  Job? 

Moreover,  why  shall  we  because  of  our  natural  in¬ 
clination  to  declare  the  advancement  of  the  present  age 
so  superior,  or  our  unwillingness  to  admit  the  large 
acquirements  of  the  ancients,  and  our  exceedingly  lim¬ 
ited  knowledge  of  divine  revelation  for  the  first  two 
thousand  years  of  the  world’s  history,  dogmatically, 
and  in  opposition  to  New  Testament  revelation,  declare 
that  these  ancient  men  had  not,  and  could  not  have, 
any  adequate  knowledge  of  immortality,  the  future 
life,  or  the  Christ  who  was  to  come?  Do  we  not  re¬ 
member  that  the  writer  of  the  Hebrews  said  of  Abra¬ 
ham  :  “  He  looked  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God?  ”  Or  have  we  not 
noted  that  when  speaking  of  Abraham,  Sarah,  and  the 
patriarchs  who  preceded  them  he  said :  “  These  all  died 
in  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises,  but  having 
seen  them  afar  off,  and  were  persuaded  of  them,  and 
embraced  them,  and  confessed  that  they  were  strangers 
and  pilgrims  on  the  earth.  For  they  that  say  such 
things,  declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  country.  And 
truly  if  they  had  been  mindful  of  that  country  from 
whence  they  came  out,  they  might  have  had  opportu¬ 
nity  to  have  returned:  but  now  they  desire  a  better 


14 


INTRODUCTION 


country,  that  is,  an  heavenly:  wherefore  God  is  not 
ashamed  to  be  called  their  God;  for  he  hath  prepared 
for  them  a  city.”  4  When  Abraham  received  his  son 
as  from  the  dead  “  in  a  figure,”  5  Matthew  Henry 
says :  “  It  was  a  figure  of  the  sacrifice  and  resurrection 
of  Christ,  of  whom  Isaac  was  a  type.  It  was  a  figure 
and  earnest  of  the  glorious  resurrection  of  all  true 
believers,  whose  life  is  not  lost,  but  hid  with  Christ 
in  God.” 

If  others  of  the  patriarchs  had  a  definite  knowledge 
of  the  plan  of  salvation,  a  belief  in  the  Messiah  to 
come,  and  a  hope  of  immortality,  why  deny  this  knowl¬ 
edge  to  Job?  All  revelation  comes  from  God,  and  it 
is  not  a  question  whether  God  could,  it  is  a  question  as 
to  whether  He  did,  reveal  these  truths  to  Job  in  the 
days  of  the  patriarchs,  before  the  time  of  Moses. 
Why  conclude,  as  some  commentators  do,  that  Job 
could  not  have  known  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  at 
so  early  a  period  of  the  world’s  history?  That  Job 
has  given  us  no  long  treatise  on  the  subject  of  escha¬ 
tology,  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  arriving  at  such  a 
conclusion.  If  there  is  evidence  from  a  plain  and  sane 
interpretation  of  the  language  of  Job  that  he  did  know 
these  doctrines,  why  not  accept  it?  Why  merely  con¬ 
jecture  as  to  what  Job  knew  or  did  not  know?  Could 
not  God  have  given  this  important  revelation  to  Job 
as  He  did  to  Adam,  Noah,  Enoch  and  Abraham?  The 
sacrifices  from  the  time  of  Abel,  looked  forward  to 
one  who  was  to  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent.  Was 
Job  only  mumbling  a  ritual  when  he  offered  sacrifices 
and  prayed  for  divine  forgiveness?  Had  not  God 
made  clear  to  him  what  the  sacrifice  meant  and  why  it 
was  offered  ?  To  deny  that  other  men  of  his  day,  and 


4  Heb.  11 : 10,  13-15.  5  Heb.  11 : 19. 


INTRODUCTION 


15 


earlier,  knew,  is  to  deny  the  inspired  interpretation  of 
their  minds,  as  given  in  the  Hebrews. 

Jesus  must  look  down  with  scorn  upon  many  modern 
writers  who  refuse  to  admit  that  the  patriarchs  might 
have  had  any  definite  knowledge  of  His  coming.  Im¬ 
mediately  after  His  Resurrection,  He  said  to  two  of 
His  disciples,  as  He  walked  with  them  toward  Em- 
maus :  “  O  fools  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that 
the  prophets  have  spoken!  Ought  not  Christ  to  have 
suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ?  And 
beginning  at  Moses,  and  all  the  prophets,  He  ex¬ 
pounded  to  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  con¬ 
cerning  himself.”  6 

Among  those  who  claim  a  late  date  for  the  Book  of 
Job,  none  of  them  have  given  a  satisfactory  answer  to 
these  two  questions:  How  shall  we  account  for  the 
form  of  his  worship ?  And ,  how  shall  we  explain  the 
length  of  his  life ?  With  reference  to  the  first  of  these 
questions,  which  is  a  vital  one,  this  is  evident:  that  Job  v 
worshipped  in  the  same  manner  in  which  the  other, 
patriarchs  did,  acting  as  priest  for  himself  and  family. 
This  he  could  not  have  done  with  the  divine  approval 
after  the  days  of  Moses.  Then  there  was  a  central 
altar,  a  High  Priest,  and  an  order  of  priests,  who 
alone  were  to  officiate  in  offering  sacrifices  to  God. 
After  the  giving  of  the  Mosaic  law  and  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  Aaron  in  the  priesthood,  it  was  a  sin  for 
others  to  take  upon  themselves  the  duties  of  the 
priestly  office.  When  a  man  with  all  the  authority  of 
king  attempted  it,  as  did  Saul,  he  was  condemned  of 
God,  and  a  new  dynasty  established  in  Israel.  Conse¬ 
quently,  after  the  days  of  Moses,  Job  could  not  have 
officiated  in  the  offering  of  sacrifices,  and  still  have 


6  Luke  24:25-27. 


16 


INTRODUCTION 


been  pronounced  perfect  and  upright  in  the  sight  of 
God,  one  who  feared  God  and  turned  away  from  evil. 
Job  acted  as  both  priest  and  ruler,  at  least  as  one  of  the 
rulers  in  the  land  of  Uz. 

Moreover,  let  it  be  remembered  that  those  who  lived 
outside  of  the  bounds  of  Israel,  after  the  days  of 
Moses,  must  also  come  to  the  central  altar,  the  altar 
which  God  had  appointed,  and  worship  in  the  same 
manner  as  Israel,  allowing  the  priest  to  offer  sacrifices 
for  them.  At  the  time  of  Christ,  both  Jews  and 
proselytes  of  every  nation,  knew  that  it  was  not  per¬ 
missible  for  them  to  offer  in  their  own  land  and  ob¬ 
serve  the  Passover  there.  They  came  to  Jerusalem  to 
worship,  as  did  the  devout  Ethiopian,  and  as  did  men 
from  practically  every  nation  when  the  great  pente- 
costal  revival  began  under  the  preaching  of  the  apostles 
at  Jerusalem.  Job  must,  then,  have  lived  before  the 
promulgation  of  the  ceremonial  law.  Also  it  is  evident 
that  he  lived  after  the  time  of  Abraham,  for  which  a 
number  of  reasons  might  be  assigned,  one  of  which  is 
that  Bildad  was  a  descendent  of  Shuah,  who  was  the 
sixth  son  of  Abraham  and  Keturah.  With  reference 
to  the  second  question:  How  shall  we  explain  the 
length  of  Job’s  life?  There  is  no  satisfactory  explana¬ 
tion,  unless  he  lived  in  the  patriarchal  period,  when  the 
length  of  the  life  of  man  was  approximately  two  hun¬ 
dred  years.  This  was  earlier  than  the  days  of  Moses, 
and  about  the  time  of  Abraham. 

PHILOLOGICAL  ARGUMENT 

It  is  questionable  whether  an  argument  from  the 
language  can  be  deduced  which  will  prove  either  an 
early  or  a  late  date  for  the  Book  of  Job.  At  least  no 
argument  has  yet  been  produced  which  is  decisive  on 


INTRODUCTION 


17 


behalf  of  a  late  date.  While  W.  T.  Davison,  in  “  The 
Wisdom  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament,”  states  that 
there  are  a  large  number  of  words  with  Aramaic  and 
Arabic  affinities,  yet  he  adds  that  it  is  difficult  to  infer 
a  date  from  this  phenomenon.  One  scholar  argues  for 
an  early  date,  another  for  a  late  date  from  the  lan¬ 
guage.  “  The  argument  from  language  cannot  be 
used  as  a  primary  determining  element  in  the  case.”  7 
A.  R.  Fausset  believes  that  Job  lived  about  the  time  of 
Isaac,  and  in  support  of  this  view  among  other  reasons 
he  says :  “  The  language  of  Job  is  Hebrew  interspersed 
occasionally  with  Syriac  and  Arabic  expressions,  im¬ 
plying  a  time  when  all  the  Semitic  tribes  spoke  one 
common  tongue  and  had  not  branched  into  different 
dialects,  Hebrew,  Syriac  and  Arabic.”  8  While  Gesen- 
ius  argues  in  favour  of  the  Arabic  cast  of  the  work  he 
says:  “  It  would  be  unjust  to  infer  from  this  that  the 
author  of  this  book  had  any  immediate  connection  with 
Arabia,  or  with  Arabic  literature.”  9  If  this  argument 
might  be  used  in  favour  of  any  date,  it  would  be  an 
early  one.  In  McClintock  and  Strong’s  Cyclopaedia,  in 
an  article  on  Job,  the  argument  is  quoted  from  Span- 
heim  on  behalf  of  an  early  date,  in  which  it  is  said: 
“  The  language  of  the  book  of  Job  seems  strongly  to 
support  the  opinion  of  its  having  been  written  as  early 
as  the  time  of  Moses.”  Though  Buttenwieser  argues 
in  favour  of  assigning  a  late  date  to  Job,  yet  he  says  of 
the  number  of  Aramaisms,  “  They  are  not  nearly  as 
numerous  as  Kautzsch,  Die  Aramaismen  im  Alt.  Test., 
and  others  think.”  Notice  a  few  specific  instances 
where  Aramaisms  have  been  alleged.  In  the  critical 
exegesis  of  chap.  5 : 2,  concerning  the  word  translated 
“  foolish  man,”  Lange  asserts  that  “  the  le  before  the 

7  P.  40.  8  Introduction  to  Job.  9  Barnes,  Vol.  I,  p.  22,  Intro. 


18 


INTRODUCTION 


word  is  after  the  Aramaic  usage,  introducing  the  ob¬ 
ject  which  is  emphatically  placed  first.”  Concerning 
the  same  word  Buttenwieser  says :  “  The  construction 
of  the  direct  object  with  le,  which  occurs  several  times 
in  Job,10  is  not,  as  widely  thought,  a  peculiarity  of  the 
late  literature  due  to  Aramaic  influence,  but  is  a  com¬ 
mon  construction  also  in  the  older  literature.* 11  It  is 
found  likewise  in  Arabic  and  Assyrian :  in  fact,  as  A. 
Fischer  has  pointed  out,  it  is  a  common  Semitic  usage, 
the  beginnings  of  which  must  lie  far  back  in  the 
I/r-Semitic  language.12  On  chap.  9:11,  Buttenwieser 
says :  “  If  he  passed  by  me:  hen ,  as  already  understood 
by  Gk.,  is  conditional  particle,  but  not  an  Aramaism. 
To  consider  every  case  of  the  use  of  hen  as  conditional 
particle  in  Biblical  Hebrew  as  an  Aramaism  would 
necessitate  resorting  to  an  unwarranted  method  of 
criticism.”  On  31:33,  Lange,  quoting  Ewald,  says 
that  hob  is  much  more  common  in  Aramaic.  But  con¬ 
cerning  the  same  word  Buttenwieser  says :  "  hob  is  not 
an  Aramaic  loan-word,  but  a  common  Semitic  word. — 
It  is  derived  from  the  common  Semitic  verb  habab,  ‘  to 
love/  ”  13 

A  frequent  attack  has  been  made  by  critics  against 
the  passage  attributed  to  Elihu,  and  it  has  been  de¬ 
clared  to  be  an  interpolation.  It  is,  however,  natural 
to  think  that  Elihu— being  of  another  tribe,  a  Buzite,  a 
descendent  of  Nahor  the  brother  of  Abraham — would 
have  certain  peculiarities  of  language.  While  Butten¬ 
wieser  reconstructs  Elihu’s  speech  to  please  himself,  he 
says :  “  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  defenders  of  the  Elihu 
chapters  as  they  have  come  down  to  us,  Budde  in  par- 

i°  Cf.  12723,  19:28,  and  also  5:7. 

11  Cf.  Ex.  32 : 13,  Nu.  32:15,  etc. 

12  Buttenwieser,  p.  167. 

is  P.  264. 


INTRODUCTION 


19 


ticular,  point  to  their  linguistic  character  as  a  weighty 
argument  in  favour  of  their  genuineness/’ 14 

The  more  careful  consideration  the  philological 
argument  is  given,  the  more  certain  it  is  that  it  cannot 
be  taken  as  the  basis  for  assigning  a  late  date  to  the 
Book  of  Job. 

G.  Campbell  Morgan  says :  “  There  is  every  internal 
evidence  that  this  is  an  ancient  story,  probably  patri¬ 
archal.”  He  considers  the  Book  “  in  magnificence  of 
argument  and  beauty  of  style  one  of  the  grandest  in 
the  Divine  Library.”  And  that  “  the  arguments  ad¬ 
vanced  are  accurately  set  forth.”  15 

RECENT  EXPOSITIONS 

Two  of  the  most  recent  commentators  upon  the 
Book  of  Job  are  the  late  Professor  Morris  Jastrow,  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Professor  Moses 
Buttenwieser,  of  the  Hebrew  Union  College,  Cincin¬ 
nati.  The  former  is  admittedly  largely  influenced  by 
German  criticism,  the  latter  is  a  product  of  Jewish 
criticism.  Jastrow,  after  paying  a  high  tribute  to 
Arnold  B.  Ehrlich  and  his  comprehensive  critical  notes 
on  the  Hebrew  Bible,  says  that  Ehrlich  had  this  work 
published  in  Germany  because  “  it  was  only  in  Ger¬ 
many  that  he  could  find  a  publisher  for  a  work  of  this 
character.”  Then  he  adds :  “  If  I  were  to  have  made 
full  acknowledgment  to  Ehrlich  in  the  notes  to  my 
translation,  his  name  would  have  appeared  on  every 
page.”  16  Buttenwieser’s  publishers  state  that  he  has 
“  hit  on  a  re-ordering  of  chapters  16-37,  which  have 
always  been  a  great  stumblingblock.”  Jastrow  says : 
“  There  are  not  ten  consecutive  verses  in  the  Sym- 

14  P.267. 

15  The  Analyzed  Bible,  Job  to  Malachi,  p.  9. 

16  The  Book  of  Job,  Jastrow,  p.  16. 


20 


INTRODUCTION 


posium  between  Job  and  his  friends  or  in  the  speeches 
of  Elihu  or  in  the  magnificent  closing  chapters  placed 
as  speeches  in  the  mouth  of  Yahweh,  the  text  of  which 
can  be  regarded  as  correct.”  17  But  he  admits  that, 
“  occasionally  the  critical  student  finds  himself  baffled 
and  must  content  himself  either  with  a  more  or  less 
plausible  guess,  or  admit  his  inability  to  solve  the  puz¬ 
zling  problem.”  18  Again  he  says :  “  In  a  large  number 
of  passages — -the  text  cannot  be  regarded  as  correct 
for  the  sufficient  reason  that  it  gives  no  sense.”  19  An 
example  of  one  of  the  cases  at  which  he  was  baffled 
and  evidently  guessing,  is  that  of  the  twenty-third 
verse  of  the  twelfth  chapter,  which  he  regards  as  an 
insertion  for  the  reason  that  it  “  is  foreign  to  the  argu¬ 
ment.”  20  On  the  contrary  it  is  entirely  relevant  to  the 
main  argument  of  the  context  and  a  striking  example 
of  it.  Job  is  showing  the  omnipotent  power  of  God, 
and  in  this  verse  he  declares  that  it  extends  even  to  the 
nations  of  the  world.  God  can  enlarge  and  destroy 
them  at  pleasure.  How  often  men  in  talking,  or  even 
in  writing,  throw  in  a  remark  or  quotation  which  is 
not  vitally  connected  with  the  context,  or  which,  if 
eliminated,  would  not  mar  the  reading  or  the  general 
statement.  If  every  critic  were  permitted  to  throw  out 
all  such  passages,  the  best  literature  would  be  muti¬ 
lated.  Shakespeare,  Milton  and  Browning  would  be 
disfigured. 

Buttenwieser  points  out  that  the  inference  drawn  by 
Wellhausen,  Jastrow  and  others,  that  the  Job-story  is 
a  product  of  folk  literature  is  intenable.  “  Repetitions 
are  not  a  special  characteristic  of  folk-tales ;  they  are  a 
feature  of  ancient  narrative  literature  in  general. 
They  occur  with  frequency  throughout  Biblical  narra- 


17  Ibid.,  p.  9.  18  P.  10.  19  P.  8.  20  P.  241. 


INTRODUCTION 


21 


tive  literature — Old  and  New  Testament  alike — and 
with  still  greater  frequency  in  Egyptian  and  Hindu 
literature.”  21  Jastrow  attempts  to  prove  that  neither 
the  prologue  or  the  epilogue  are  a  part  of  the  original 
book.  On  the  contrary,  Delitzsch  asserts,  when  speak¬ 
ing  of  Eliphaz  and  the  causes  of  the  suffering  of  the 
godly:  “  Job’s  suffering,  according  to  the  chief  pur¬ 
pose  of  God,  is  not  chastisement,  but  trial.  Jehovah 
has  decreed  it  for  His  servant,  not  to  chasten  him,  but 
to  prove  him.  This  it  is  that  Eliphaz  mistakes ;  and  we 
also  should  not  know  it  but  for  the  prologue  and  the 
corresponding  epilogue.  Accordingly,  the  prologue 
and  the  epilogue  are  organic  parts  of  the  form  of  the 
book.  If  they  are  removed,  its  spirit  is  destroyed.”  22 

Professor  Jastrow  admits  that  he  cannot  rearrange 
the  text  of  the  Book  to  his  own  satisfaction,  “  ex¬ 
cept  through  the  employment  of  an  arbitrary  method 
which  the  best  Biblical  scholarship  has  never  counte¬ 
nanced.”  23  Employing  this  “  arbitrary  ”  method  he 
has  torn  down  and  reconstructed  the  Book  with  almost 
as  much  liberty  as  a  child  with  his  tinker-toys.  It  is 
not  regarding  the  text  as  a  “  fetish,” 24  Professor 
Jastrow  notwithstanding,  to  consider  a  book  of  the 
Bible  which  is  inspired  of  God  and  has  been  preserved 
through  all  these  centuries — the  manuscript  of  which 
has  been  reviewed  and  corrected  by  scholarly  individ¬ 
uals,  by  committees,  national  and  international — with 
sanctity  and  reverence,  and  to  deny  any  one  the  right 
of  using  an  arbitrary  method  of  expurgation  and  re¬ 
vision.  For  a  man  to  say  concerning  any  portion  of 
any  book  of  the  Bible,  here  is  a  passage  which  to  me 

21  Book  of  Job,  Buttenwieser,  p.  19. 

22  The  Book  of  Job,  Vol.  I,  p.  108. 

23  P.  107.  24  P.  107. 


22 


INTRODUCTION 


does  not  seem  to  fit  into  this  position  or  to  make  the 
sense  which  I  would  like,  therefore  I  will  deliberately 
cut  it  out,  or  fit  it  into  another  section  after  revising  it 
to  my  taste,  is  the  height  of  audacity,  however  learned 
he  may  be.  To  try  to  cleanse  the  text  of  any  inaccu¬ 
racies,  is  one  thing;  to  claim  the  right  of  an  arbitrary 
method  of  revision,  is  altogether  another. 

For  instance :  in  the  celebrated  passage,  chapter 
19 : 25-27,  Jastrow,  in  place  of  admitting  that  which  is 
manifestly  true — that  Job,  rising  above  the  torture, 
distraction  and  temptation  of  the  hour,  soars  like  Paul, 
in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Romans,  to  the  supreme 
heights  of  faith  and  declares  his  unwavering  trust  in 
his  Redeemer  and  his  hope  of  immortality — disposes 
of  this  sublime  passage  by  saying  in  substance  this: 
Job  could  not  have  said  it  because  he  was  too  ignorant, 
he  had  not  written  a  whole  treatise  on  the  subject 
before,  so  of  course,  he  did  not  know  whereof  he 
spoke.  He  does,  following  Ehrlich,  find  some  slight 
textual  criticism ;  but  this  is  one  of  the  arbitrary  cases 
in  which  he  corrects  Job’s  ignorance.25  Even  the  Jew¬ 
ish  professor,  Buttenwieser,  with  all  his  liberality  in 
the  reconstruction  of  the  text,  does  not  presume  to 
tamper  with  it  in  this  manner.  He  leaves  the  word 
“  Redeemer  ”  in  verse  twenty-five,  and  spelled  with  a 
capital.  He  says  there  has  been  much  diversity  of 
opinion  about  this  passage  and,  “  all  sorts  of  emenda¬ 
tions  have  been  proposed.  Yet  these  verses  require  no 
emendation,  being  perfect  both  in  thought  and  gram¬ 
matical  structure.  This  astonishing  fact  is  psycho¬ 
logically  interesting;  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
confusion  is  due,  not  to  the  inherent  difficulties  of  the 
verses,  but  to  the  bias  with  which  they  have  been  ap- 


25  Pp.  124-126. 


INTRODUCTION 


23 


proached.”  26  This  is  a  very  proper  disposal  of  the 
alleged  textual  difficulty.  However,  I  do  not  think 
that  Buttenwieser  gives,  either  the  proper  translation 
or  interpretation  of  this  passage.  He  translates  verse 
twenty-six,  “  Even  after  my  skin  hath  been  torn  from 
my  flesh,”  and  while  the  wording  may  be  permissible, 
it  is  not  warranted  by  the  context,  or  a  correct  under¬ 
standing  of  the  conditions.  The  destruction  of  the 
flesh,  of  which  Job  speaks,  did  not  come  about  by 
reason  of  wild  beasts :  his  body  was  at  that  very  time 
undergoing  putrefaction  and  decay  due  to  his  disease 
and  the  ravages  of  worms.27  In  Job’s  Redeemer,  he 
can  see  no  farther  than  God  the  Father,  the  natural 
Jewish  interpretation,  ignoring  Job’s  expression  of 
hope  in  a  Redeemer  who  was  to  stand  at  the  latter  day 
upon  the  earth. 

Both  of  these  two  latest  commentators  on  Job,  in 
endeavouring  to  improve  and  reconstruct  the  Book, 
have  taken  the  lustre  from  the  diamond.  Their  efforts 
are  as  if  a  man  should  enter  the  tomb  of  the  Egyptian 
king,  Tutankhamen,  and  try  to  detect  its  mysteries 
with  a  compound  microscope,  the  meanwhile  missing 
all  of  its  marvelous  splendour,  harmony  and  beauty. 
They  are  both  almost  devoid  of  homiletical  or  prac¬ 
tical  value  for  either  the  minister  or  the  layman. 

Such  quibbling  as  that  in  which  many  of  the  critics 
indulge,  is  well  described  by  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  in  his 
Introduction  to  the  eighty-fifth  Psalm:  “  Certain  in¬ 
terpreters  appear  to  grudge  the  psalmist  David  the 
authorship  of  any  of  the  Psalms,  and  refer  the  sacred 
songs  by  wholesale  to  the  times  of  Hezekiah,  Josiah, 
the  Captivity  and  the  Maccabees.  It  is  remarkable 
that,  as  a  rule,  the  more  skeptical  a  writer  is,  the  more 


26  Book  of  Job,  Buttenwieser,  p.  238.  27  Chap.  7 :  5. 


24 


INTRODUCTION 


resolute  is  he  to  have  done  with  David;  while  the 
purely  evangelic  annotators  are  for  the  most  part  con¬ 
tent  to  leave  the  poet  in  the  chair  of  authorship.  The 
charms  of  a  new  theory  also  operate  greatly  upon 
writers  who  would  have  nothing  at  all  to  say  if  they 
did  not  invent  a  novel  hypothesis,  and  twist  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  the  Psalm  in  order  to  justify  it.”  It  is  much 
better,  therefore,  to  approach  Job  in  the  spirit  which 
Delitzsch  suggests :  “  The  right  expositor  of  the  Book 
of  Job  must,  before  everything  else,  bring  to  it  a  believ¬ 
ing  apprehension  of  the  work  of  Christ,  in  order  that 
he  may  be  able  to  comprehend  this  book  from  its  con¬ 
nection  with  the  historical  development  of  the  plan  of 
redemption,  whose  unity  is  the  work  of  Christ.”  28 

DOCTRINAL  CONTENTS 

In  presenting  an  epitome  of  the  principal  doctrines 
suggested  in  the  Book  of  Job,  the  author  does  not  pre¬ 
tend  to  do  so  in  the  form  of  lucid  reading:  but  rather 
with  the  idea  of  showing  in  as  brief  space  as  possible, 
that  Job  had  an  adequate  knowledge  of  the  plan  of  sal¬ 
vation  and  of  the  principles  of  theology,  which  is  so 
frequently  denied  him.  We  may  well  suppose  that 
such  a  broad  knowledge  of  theology  was  common  to 
other  of  the  godly  patriarchs,  though  not  always  ex¬ 
pressed.  From  the  earliest  ages,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  operation  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  God  did  not 
leave  His  people  without  a  sufficient  knowledge  of 
Himself,  and  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  In  preparing 
this  summary  of  doctrines,  the  author  is  in  a  large 
measure  indebted  to  Albert  Barnes,  although  on  some 
points  he  differs  from  him.  It  might  likewise  be 
shown,  as  Barnes  has  done,  that  Job  possessed  a  sur- 


28  Book  of  Job,  Vol.  I,  p.  43. 


INTRODUCTION 


25 


prising  knowledge  of  the  sciences  and  arts.  If  one 
were  to  develop  each  of  these  points,  it  would  be  to 
write  another  volume  from  the  doctrinal  standpoint. 

i.  The  existence  of  one  God ,  the  wise  and  glorious 
Creator  of  all  things.  There  is  no  suggestion  of  God 
consisting  of  a  good  and  evil  principle,  such  as  was 
held  by  the  nations  of  the  east,  particularly  in  Persia. 
The  pagan  philosophers  never  held  the  high  and  pure 
ideals  of  God,  such  as  are  spoken  of  here. 

He  is  almighty.  9 : 4-12 — He  is  the  remover  of 
mountains — shakes  the  earth — commands  the  sun — 
makes  the  stars.  Also  chapters  38-41. 

He  is  omniscient.  11:8-11 — He  knows  the  hearts 
of  men,  even  the  wicked.  Also  21 :  22. 

He  is  wise.  12 :  13 — With  Him  is  wisdom — 28 :  12, 
He  is  the  source  of  wisdom. 

He  is  inscrutable.  11 :  7-9 — “  Canst  thou  by  search¬ 
ing  find  out  God  ?  ” 

He  is  invisible.  11:7;  10 : 4 — “  Hast  thou  eyes  of 
flesh  ?  ” 

He  is  the  supreme  governor  of  the  world.  5  :  9-13 — 
8:4-6 — 12:  10-25.  In  His  hand  is  the  soul  of  every 
living  creature,  and  the  breath  of  all  mankind. 

He  is  the  creator  of  all  things.  10 :  8-1 1 — 38 :  4-10. 

He  is  perfectly  pure  and  holy.  15:  15,  16 — “The 
heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight.”  Also  35 :  5,  6. 

He  is  eternal.  10 :  5 — “  Are  thy  days  as  the  days 
of  man?  ” 

He  is  a  spiritual  being.  10:4. 

He  is  gracious  and  ready  to  forgive  sin.  33  :  23-28 
— If  one  seeks  God  he  may  find  a  ransom.  He  will 
deliver  his  soul  from  going  into  the  pit. 

He  is  merciful,  He  allows  the  wicked  to  prosper. 
21 : 7-13. 


26 


INTRODUCTION 


He  is  a  hearer  of  prayer.  33  :  26 — 42 :  8. 

He  is  the  dispenser  of  life  and  death.  4:9 — 

10 :  12—33 :  4—42 :  2. 

He  is  the  revealer  of  all  divine  truth.  33 :  14-17 — 
“  He  openeth  the  ears  of  men,  and  sealeth  their  in¬ 
struction/’  Also  42 :  2,  3. 

2.  The  universe  was  created  by  God.  It  did  not 
come  into  being  by  chance.  10 :  10 — “  It  was  not  the 
work  of  inferior  beings,  nor  was  it  eternal.  38:4-11, 
“  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  earth  ?  ” 

j.  He  is  the  governor  of  all  His  creatures.  The 
whole  book  is  a  demonstration  of  this  fact.  The  only 
question  is,  the  manner  in  which  it  shall  be  done.  One 
maintains  that  there  will  be  a  present  retribution,  the 
other  a  future  one  which  will  accord  with  justice.  All 
agree  that  God  would  show  Himself  the  friend  of  the 
righteous  and  the  punisher  of  the  wicked.  He  dis¬ 
penses  rewards  and  punishments  according  to  their 
character.  12 : 23,  “  He  increaseth  the  nations  and 
destroyeth  them;  he  enlargeth  the  nations,  and  strait- 
eneth  them  again.”  34:  24,  “  He  shall  break  in  pieces 
mighty  men  without  number,  and  set  others  in  their 
stead.” 

4.  The  existence  of  angels  is  asserted.  1 :  6 — The 
sons  of  God  came  to  present  themselves  before  the 
Lord.  Holy  beings,  spirits,  which  are  superior  to  men 
and  have  access  to  God  are  here  indicated. 

5.  The  existence  of  evil  spirits  is  asserted.  1 :  6-12 
— Satan  is  represented  as  an  individual  being,  as  truly 
as  any  other  spirit.  He  is  represented  as  a  vicious, 
malignant,  accusing  enemy.  He  delights  to  cause  pain 
and  ruin  character.  Job  probably  knew  that  Satan  had 
been  the  agent  in  the  temptation  of  Adam  and  Eve. 


INTRODUCTION 


27 


There  is  a  resemblance  in  the  manner  in  which  he 
looked  upon  Adam  and  Job. 

6.  Man  was  regarded  as  fallen  and  wholly  de¬ 
praved.  14:  1,  4 — “  Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out 
of  an  unclean?  not  one.”  15:  14-16 — “  What  is  man 
that  he  should  be  clean  ?  ” 

7.  The  necessity  of  reconciliation  with  God  in 
order  to  he  at  peace.  22:21,  22 — “  Acquaint  now  thy¬ 
self  with  him  and  be  at  peace.”  In  offering  sacrifices, 
Job  recognized  that  reconciliation  was  needed. 

8.  Sin  was  to  he  expiated  hy  sacrifice.  Job  offered 
sacrifices  for  the  sins  of  his  family,  1:5.  Also  at  the 
command  of  God  he  offered  on  behalf  of  his  friends, 
and  accompanied  his  sacrifice  with  prayer  for  their 
forgiveness,  42 :  8.  Job  no  doubt  knew  that  these  sac¬ 
rifices  were  not  sufficient  in  themselves  to  cleanse  from 
sin,  but  that  they  pointed  to  the  Great  Sacrifice  which 
was  to  be  offered  once  for  all,  who  was  to  be  a  ransom 
for  many,  33  :  24.  See  also  Heb.  11. 

MAN  SHALL,  LIVE  AFTER  DEATH 

1.  The  soul  is  immortal.  “  If  a  man  die  shall  he 
live  again?  all  the  days  of  my  appointed  time  will  I 
wait,  till  my  change  come.  Thou  shalt  call  and  I  will 
answer  thee,”  14:  14,  15.  In  19:25-27,  Job  expresses 
his  hope  that  though  his  body  may  be  destroyed,  his 
continued  life  does  not  depend  upon  it,  without  his 
flesh  he  shall  see,  and  be  with,  his  Redeemer. 

2.  There  will  he  happiness  and  rest  after  death.  In 
the  abode  of  death,  “  There  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubling;  and  there  the  weary  be  at  rest,”  3 :  17. 

3.  There  shall  he  a  resurrection.  Job  was  assured 
that  his  Redeemer  would  appear  at  the  latter  day  upon 
the  earth,  that  he  would  see  Him  not  as  a  stranger, 


28 


INTRODUCTION 


'that  is  as  one  whom  he  knew,  in  whose  presence  he 
should  stand,  19:25.  He  believed  that  if  a  man  should 
die  he  should  live  again,  that  when  the  call  of  God 
should  come  he  would  answer,  14:  14,  15.  The  fact 
that  Job  believed  there  was  a  judgment,  indicates  that 
he  believed  there  would  be  a  resurrection  of  those  who 
were  to  be  judged. 

4.  There  shall  he  a  judgment.  “  The  wicked  is  re¬ 
served  to  the  day  of  destruction,  they  shall  be  brought 
forth  to  the  day  of  wrath,”  21:30.  “  That  ye  may 

know  there  is  a  judgment,”  19 :  29.  “  For  what  is  the 
hope  of  the  hypocrite,  though  he  hath  gained,  when 
God  taketh  away  his  soul?  ”  27 :  8.  “  This  also  were 

an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the  judge ;  for  I  should 
have  denied  the  God  that  is  above,”  31 :  28.  The  offer¬ 
ing  of  sacrifices  was  understood  by  Job  to  free  men 
from  the  wrath  of  God,  not  merely  in  this  world,  but 
in  the  world  to  come.  If  sacrifices  had  been  offered 
merely  for  what  might  be  gained  in  this  world  Job 
would  never  have  offered  them,  because  he  recognized 
that  the  wicked  prosper  in  this  world,  21 :  7-12. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  REXvXGION  ON  MORARS  AND  MANNERS 

1.  It  taught  man  to  he  diligent ,  and  not  to  dissipate 
his  body  or  his  wealth ,  Chap.  1. 

2.  It  taught  men  to  believe  in  a  monogamous 
home,  31:9-11. 

3.  It  taught  men  the  golden  rule,  to  he  respectful  in 
their  treatment  one  of  another.  The  friends  of  Job 
were  polite,  they  waited  their  turns  when  arguing 
with  Job. 

4.  It  taught  respect  for  age.  The  elder  spoke  first, 
and  the  younger  waited  until  the  last. 

5.  It  taught  men  that  charity  was  God-like.  Job 


INTRODUCTION 


29 


denied  that  he  had  lacked  charity,  he  had  not  withheld 
from  the  poor  or  the  widow,  he  had  not  eaten  his 
morsel  alone,  nor  withheld  clothing  from  the  desti¬ 
tute,  31 :  16-22.  The  stranger  had  not  been  permitted 
to  lodge  in  the  street.  He  was  eyes  to  the  blind,  feet 
to  the  lame,  and  always  sympathetic  in  trouble, 
31:31-34. 

JOB  WAS  A  TYPE  OP  CHRIST 

He  was  a  great  sufferer,  despised  even  by  his  dearest 
friends,  he  was  emptied  and  humbled,  but  in  order  to 
greater  glory.  He  was  persecuted  for  a  time  by  men 
and  devils,  and  seemed  forsaken  of  God :  but  was 
afterward  raised  up  to  be  an  intercessor  for  his  friends 
who  had  sinned  and  added  to  his  affliction. 

It  is  evident  that  in  that  early  day,  faith  and  piety 
were  well  rounded  out.  It  would  be  well  if  some  men, 
who  ridicule  the  patriarchs  as  being  men  who  were  in¬ 
capable  of  receiving  or  understanding  deep  truths,  had 
as  full  an  understanding  of  them  as  did  Job.  It  would 
be  well  if  all  men  lived  as  closely  to  God  as  did  he:  if 
they  had  the  patience  which  Job  had,  and  if  they  had 
the  endurance  to  await  God's  time  and  hold  out  faith¬ 
fully  against  sin. 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 
Job  1 :  1-5 


JOB  lived  in  a  day  when  the  modern  facilities  for 
simplifying  work,  and  the  conveniences  for 
making  homes  happy,  were  unknown.  But 
though  the  dwelling  of  Job  lacked  the  latest  devices 
for  furnishing  water,  heat  and  light,  it  was  an  ideal 
home.  His  family  was  happy,  the  children  were  kind 
to  one  another,  were  loving  and  lovable,  were  upright 
in  character  and  industrious  in  life,  and  they  honoured 
their  parents  and  their  God. 

Ancient  dates  are  often  difficult  to  fix  with  ac¬ 
curacy.  To  determine  the  date  of  Job’s  birth  or  death 
is  impossible.  One  cannot  state  with  assurance,  within 
several  hundred  years,  the  time  at  which  Job  lived.  It 
must,  however,  have  been  some  time  between  the  days 
of  Abraham,  and  the  closing  period  of  the  life  of 
Moses.  He  could  not  have  officiated  as  his  own  priest 
after  the  establishment  of  Aaron  in  the  priesthood,  and 
the  promulgation  of  the  Mosaic  law.  After  that  it 
was  a  sin  for  either  Jew  or  proselyte  to  take  upon  him¬ 
self  the  duties  of  the  priestly  office.  Even  Saul,  when 
he  attempted  it,  was  condemned  of  God,  deposed  from 
the  office  of  king,  and  a  new  dynasty  was  established  in 
Israel.  It  is  true,  there  were  those  who  served  as 
priests  in  other  nations,  after  the  days  of  Moses,  but 
they  were  not  perfect  and  upright  in  the  sight  of  God, 
as  was  Job.  Job’s  method  of  worship  was  according 

30 


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31 


to  the  customary  patriarchal  manner.  He  was  the 
priest  and  ruler  of  his  household. 

The  land  of  Uz,  where  Job  lived,  was  in  the  Syro- 
Arabian  desert;  that  territory  which  lay  east  of  Pal¬ 
estine  and  north  of  Edom.  There  are  many  traditions 
as  to  its  exact  location,  and  many  tombs  have  been 
pointed  out,  as  the  tomb  of  Job.  In  Hauran,  the 
Bashan  of  the  Bible,  about  twenty  miles  north  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  the  traveler  is  not  only  shown  the  tomb 
of  Job,  but  the  stone  upon  which  he  sat,  and  the  rock 
upon  which  he  leaned  in  his  sorrow.  It  is  said  that  no 
disease  can  prevail  in  that  locality  today.  Pilgrims 
from  many  lands  journey  there  to  see  and  kiss  the 
spot.  But  there  are  traditions^  which  have  grown  up, 
and  are  repeated  today  with  the  same  vivacity  concern¬ 
ing  many  other  localities  far  from  the  land  of  Bashan. 
The  theory  that  his  home  was  in  Hauran  does  not  ful¬ 
fill  the  conditions,  and  is  not  generally  accepted  today. 
All  that  we  can  say  with  definiteness  is,  that  the  land 
\  of  Uz  was,  in  the  days  of  Job,  a  fertile  spot,  whose  in¬ 
habitants  were  prosperous.  It  was  a  district  which  lay 
in  the  way  of  the  caravans  of  Sheba  and  Tema,  and 
which  was  exposed  to  the  lawless  bands  of  the  Chal¬ 
deans  and  Sabeans.  The  residence  of  Job  was  in,  or 
near,  a  city,  at  the  gate  of  which  he  sat  with  the  elders 
to  administer  justice.  We  are  not  warranted  in  dwell¬ 
ing  at  length  upon  the  place  where  Job  lived.  It  is  not 
vital,  and  is  a  matter  which,  though  we  should  make 
an  exhaustive  study,  could  not  be  exactly  determined. 
(For  further  discussion  of  time  and  place  see 
Introduction.) 

That  which  is  prominent  in  the  very  introduction  of 
this  Book,  is  the  character  and  home  life  of  Job,  his 
posterity  and  his  piety.  We  wish  to  make  a  few  ob- 


32 


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servations  on  the  conditions  which  made  Job’s  home 
life  ideal,  and  which  bless  or  mar  our  own. 

GODLY  PARENTS 

Job  feared  God  and  turned  away  from  evil.  He  was 
perfect  and  upright.  This  is  a  condensed  summary  of 
his  character,  but  it  is  one  which  is  full  of  meaning.  It 
is  evident  both  from  the  nature  of  the  man,  and  the 
explanation  of  his  character  which  follows,  that  the 
Word  does  not  intend  to  convey  the  impression  that 
Job  was  perfect  in  the  absolute  sense  of  the  word.  Job 
was  not  perfect  in  the  sense  in  which  Jesus  was  per¬ 
fect,  without  sin.  Job  was  perfect  in  his  dealings  with 
his  fellow  men,  he  was  just,  he  was  of  an  irreproach¬ 
able  character.  He  was  regular  and  devoted  in  wor¬ 
ship,  patient  in  trial,  and  faithful  under  temptation. 
We  can  say  without  stretching  our  imagination  un¬ 
duly,  that  the  children  of  Job  or  his  servants,  never 
saw  him  fly  into  a  passion,  or  take  the  name  of  God 
profanely  upon  his  lips,  or  break  a  contract  which  he 
had  made  with  his  neighbours  or  his  servants. 

Job  lived  in  a  fertile  plain,  as  did  Lot,  but  he  did  not 
drift  into  worldliness  and  forget  the  moral  and  spir¬ 
itual  oversight  of  his  family  in  the  same  manner.  Lot 
was  drawn  by  evil.  Job  turned  away  from  evil.  It  is 
probable  that  there  was  idolatry  around  Job,  as  there 
was  about  Abraham,  but,  like  Abraham,  he  remained 
separate  from  it.  You  remember  that  wherever  Abra¬ 
ham  went  he  set  up  an  altar  to  God.  Job  was  also 
sincere  and  regular  in  his  worship  of  God,  and  in  lead¬ 
ing  his  family  in  divine  worship. 

There  is  no  blessing  which  children  in  a  home  may 
have  which  surpasses  that  of  pious  parents.  The  pious 
mother  is  the  conscientious,  patient  mother.  The 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


33 


pious  father  will  not  chastise  his  child  without  cause, 
nor  will  he  permit  him  to  go  on  in  sin  until  he  becomes 
a  snare  to  himself  and  all  about  him.  The  Godly 
parent  is  the  kind,  loving  parent.  The  Godly  parent 
will  train  the  mind  of  the  child.  The  Godly  father  will 
want  to  see  his  child  fitted  for  the  service  of  God.  He 
knows  that  a  trained  mind  is  best  fitted  for  active  ef¬ 
fective  service.  His  child  is  taught  honour,  truth, 
patience,  and  respect  for  others.  The  child  is  thus 
respected  by  his  friends  and  neighbours  and  learns  to 
do  to  others  as  he  would  have  them  do  to  him.  He 
has  a  splendid  capital  in  his  own  character.  His 
friends  will  trust,  encourage,  and  help  him.  His  social 
life  will  be  happy,  his  business  life  will  not  be  irksome 
but  pleasant,  and  his  religious  life  will  be  one  of  true 
comfort  because  he  worships  God  sincerely,  with  a 
pure  heart,  and  a  clear  conscience. 

COMFORTABLE  CIRCUMSTANCES 

The  outward  circumstances  of  the  family  of  Job 
were  comfortable.  They  had  plenty  to  eat  and  to  wear. 
They  were  not  confined  to  the  most  penurious  living. 
Their  home  had  in  it  comforts  above  the  average  of 
that  day. 

Job  was  the  greatest  of  all  the  children  of  the  East. 
He  had  seven  thousand  sheep,  three  thousand  camels, 
one  thousand  oxen,  five  hundred  she-asses,  and  a  great 
many  servants.  Such  a  great  herd  of  sheep  would 
furnish  meat  for  the  household,  wool  for  clothing, 
perhaps  milk  and  butter,  and  offerings  for  the  sacri¬ 
fices.  The  great  drove  of  camels  would  furnish  cara¬ 
vans  for  journeys  in  all  directions  across  the  desert 
and  enable  their  owner  to  trade  with  all  the  nations 
about  them,  near  or  far.  The  large  herd  of  oxen 


34 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


would  permit  Job  to  make  use  of  five  hundred  yoke, 
enough  to  keep  five  hundred  men  busy  plowing  in  the 
proper  season,  and  supply  teams  for  work  at  all  sea¬ 
sons  of  the  year.  The  she-asses  were  regarded  as 
more  valuable  than  the  male;  they  could  be  used  not 
only  as  beasts  of  burden,  but  also  to  furnish  milk  on 
long  journeys  over  the  desert. 

Job  had  not  only  a  large  equipment  of  men  and  ani¬ 
mals  for  work,  he  had  enough  laid  by  to  enable  his 
children  to  get  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  out  of  life. 
They  could  feast  together,  and  this  they  often  did. 

HARMONY  IN  THE  FAMILY 

Children  in  a  home  help  to  make  it  happy.  Particu¬ 
larly  is  this  true  when  there  is  a  large  family  and  the 
children  get  along  well  together.  The  children  of  Job 
enjoyed  each  other’s  company.  The  Psalmist  tells  us 
that  “  children  are  an  heritage  of  the  Lord :  and  the 
fruit  of  the  womb  is  his  reward.” 

Think  of  a  home  in  which  there  were  seven  stal¬ 
wart  sons ;  young  men  who  were  not  rowdies  or 
profane;  young  men  who  were  always  thoughtful 
concerning  their  sisters ;  young  men  who  were  honest, 
kind,  industrious,  and  happy!  Think  of  a  home  in 
which  the  three  sisters  got  along  well  with  their  seven 
brothers !  They  were  not  recluses  nor  were  they  selfish 
when  with  their  brothers;  they  enjoyed  their  compan¬ 
ionship,  and  their  brothers  enjoyed  being  with  them. 
When  one  son  made  a  feast  he  would  invite  all  the  rest 
of  his  brothers  to  dine,  and  they  would  all  help  to 
bring  their  sisters  and  make  things  just  as  enjoyable 
for  them  as  possible.  Wouldn’t  it  have  been  a  pleas¬ 
ant  thing  to  look  into  that  home  on  one  of  their  feast 
days,  to  see  them  all  doing  their  best  to  make  the  feast 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


35 


a  success  and  the  day  an  enjoyable  one.  No  one  was 
invited  out  of  mere  courtesy.  No  one  of  them  had  to 
be  petted  lest  he  should  think  he  was  slighted,  and  go 
home  pouting  or  in  a  sullen  mood,  and  refuse  to  come 
to  their  next  family  gathering. 

There  are  many  families  today  which  ought  to  study 
the  family  of  Job,  that  they  might  profit  by  their  ex¬ 
ample.  They  would  find  them  worthy  of  imitation. 
There  are  a  great  many  young  men,  who,  if  they  took 
lessons  from  the  sons  of  Job,  would  not  neglect  their 
own  sisters  so  often  for  the  company  of  some  one  else. 
And  perhaps  there  are  many  sisters,  who,  if  they  imi¬ 
tated  Job’s  daughters,  would  make  their  presence  so 
enjoyable  when  with  their  brothers,  that  they  would 
not  prefer  the  company  of  other  young  women  to  that 
of  their  own  sisters. 

There  is  nothing  much  more  like  heaven  underneath 
the  skies,  than  a  home  where  there  is  a  bright,  happy 
group  of  children,  boys  and  girls,  who  love  their 
parents  and  who  enjoy  the  company  of  one  another, 
who  do  not  quarrel,  whose  parents  are  godly  and 
whose  religion  is  a  part  of  their  daily  life. 

WORK  FOR  THE  FAMILY  AT  HOME 

There  was  work  for  the  members  of  Job’s  family 
under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  parents.  Job  was 
a  farmer.  He  had  plenty  of  work  to  do,  he  could  give 
his  children  work  so  soon  as  they  were  able  for  it,  and 
that  under  his  own  supervision.  It  is  well  for  children 
to  have  work,  if  children  are  not  assigned  certain 
duties  and  taught  to  do  them,  if  they  are  not  taught  the 
value  of  work  and  responsibility  when  they  are  young, 
it  is  likely  that  they  will  be  slow  in  learning  thrift — 
even  to  work  at  all.  In  addition  to  this,  it  is  well  if  the 


36 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


father  so  arranges  his  work,  that  he  can  put  his  boy  to 
work  under  his  own  immediate  care  and  direction.  It 
is  much  better  for  a  boy  if  his  father  can  work  with 
him,  teaching  him  how  the  work  can  be  done  well  and 
how  it  can  be  done  quickly,  encouraging  him  on  the 
one  hand  and  restraining  him  on  the  other. 

This  is  one  of  the  great  advantages  of  the  farm,  and 
it  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  so  many  men  who  are  now 
in  responsible  places  of  business  have  won  their  posi¬ 
tions  of  honour  and  responsibility.  They  learned 
industrious  habits.  They  learned  to  work.  They 
learned  that  if  they  were  to  be  successful  like  their 
father  they  must  work,  regularly,  and  hard.  They 
learned  that  grain  would  not  grow  without  first  culti¬ 
vating  the  soil  and  tending  it,  and  that  it  could  not  be 
harvested  without  hard  work  at  the  proper  time.  They 
learned  that  if  they  were  to  succeed  as  well  as  others 
with  whom  they  were  competing  they  would  have  to 
rise  early  and  work  steadily  through  the  day.  Their 
father  took  pains  to  impress  this  upon  them.  He  saw 
that  his  own  life  and  work  would  have  to  be  regular 
and  industrious  in  order  to  set  a  proper  example  before 
his  sons.  One  reason  why  fewer  girls  go  wrong  is  that 
they  are  trained  under  their  mother’s  immediate  super¬ 
vision.  Woman’s  work  in  the  home,  the  world  over, 
is  largely  the  same.  How  much  safer  boys  in  the  city 
would  be  if  more  Christian  fathers  were  to  go  into 
business  for  themselves,  so  that  they  could  have  the 
same  oversight  over  their  boys  that  fathers  do  upon 
the  farm. 

Job  arose  early  in  the  morning.  It  is  one  of  the 
splendid  things  about  farm  life  that  so  many  miss  in 
the  city.  The  habit  of  early  rising  is  essential  both  to 
devotion  and  success.  The  history  of  the  lives  of 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


37 


farmers  does  not  show  that  they  have  become  broken 
men  earlier  in  life  because  of  early  rising  and  industri¬ 
ous  working.  One  of  the  reasons  why  there  is  such  an 
unreasonable  demand  for  short  hours  on  the  part  of 
many  in  these  days,  is,  because  the  men  were  not 
taught  to  rise  early  and  apply  themselves  diligently  in 
their  youth.  Many  fathers  are  handicapped  in  this  re¬ 
gard  who  are  employed  at  work  in  which  they  cannot 
take  their  sons  with  them  and  teach  them  as  Job  did. 

Our  ideal  ought  not  to  be  to  secure  some  plan  by 
which  we  are  required  to  do  the  least  possible  work  for 
our  fellow-men  and  for  our  God,  but  we  ought  to 
strive  to  do  the  greatest  amount  of  work  for  the  bene¬ 
fit  of  our  fellow-men  and  for  the  service  of  our  God. 
In  selecting  work  or  a  profession  we  ought  to  select 
that  which  we  love  and  then  apply  ourselves  with  all 
our  heart  to  it.  A  gentleman  addressing  a  group  of 
college  students  a  few  years  ago  said:  “  Young  men, 
fall  in  love!  fall  in  love!  fall  in  love — with  your 
work.”  Too  many  young  people  fail  at  the  beginning 
when  they  do  not  fall  in  love  with  their  work  in  the 
school-room.  They  drop  out  of  school  early  and  are 
hindered  all  the  rest  of  their  lives  because  they  were 
not  willing  to  rise  early  and  work  late  that  they  might 
gain  an  education,  which  if  they  had  gained,  would 
have  given  them  a  vantage  ground  when  competing 
with  their  fellow-men. 

There  was  another  and  yet  more  important  issue  in 
Job’s  mind  which  led  him  to  rise  early.  It  was  that  he 
might  worship  with  his  family  in  the  morning.  We 
teach  our  children  that  they  should  pray,  at  least  every 
morning  and  evening.  We  ought  to  show  them  by  our 
example  that  we  mean  it.  What  good  does  it  do  for  us 
to  teach  them  to  pray  in  the  morning,  if  we  show  them 


38 


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by  our  example  that  we  love  our  pleasures  or  our  beds 
more  than  God,  and  that  we  do  not  deem  it  important 
to  worship  God  in  the  morning?  It  is  better  for  all 
the  family,  except  the  very  little  children,  who  require 
much  more  sleep,  to  be  up  in  the  morning  and  engage 
in  worship  together.  The  whole  family  should  be  in¬ 
terested  in  asking  for  God’s  blessing  through  the  day. 
“  The  slothful  man  says,  a  little  more  sleep,  a  little 
more  slumber,  a  little  more  folding  of  the  hands  to 
sleep.”  We  ought  not  to  permit  our  pleasures  to  inter¬ 
fere  with  our  morning  worship  by  allowing  them  to 
keep  us  so  late  at  night  that  we  cannot  pull  our  eyes 
open  in  the  morning  in  time  for  worship  before  the 
hour  of  work  or  school. 

“  Early  to  bed,  early  to  rise ;  makes  one  healthy, 
wealthy,  and  wise.”  It  was  an  advantage  not  only  to 
Job,  it  is  an  advantage  not  only  to  the  farmer,  it  is  an 
advantage  to  us  all.  Above  all,  the  worship  in  the 
home  ought  not  to  be  neglected,  morning  and  evening. 

PLEASURE  GIVEN  A  SECONDARY  PLACE 

In  the  days  of  their  pleasure,  Job’s  family  did  not 
forget  God.  It  was  when  his  children  were  absorbed  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  family  feasts,  that  Job  thought 
particularly  of  the  danger  of  forgetting  God.  He  did 
not  then  neglect  the  daily  sacrifice,  nor  did  he  forget 
special  prayer  on  their  behalf,  that  they  might  not  re¬ 
nounce  God  in  their  hearts.  When  we  design  our  din¬ 
ners,  picnics,  or  summer  excursions  it  ought  not  to  be 
with  an  abandonment  of  sacred  things.  There  are 
clubs  and  lodges  which  put  away  a  per  cent  of  their 
fees  and  earnings  during  the  year  to  be  used  in  a  sum¬ 
mer  excursion  of  a  few  days.  They  seek  out  some 
“  sporty  ”  summer  resort  and  give  themselves  over  to 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


39 


the  most  dissolute  abandonment.  On  such  occasions 
they  would  not  dare  to  take  their  wives  with  them. 
Their  carousals  and  debaucheries  would  disgrace  them 
in  the  sight  of  any  respectable  woman.  They  are  de¬ 
termined  to  spend  all  the  money  they  have  saved,  no 
matter  how  much  that  may  be.  The  more  money,  the 
more  lewd  the  festivities,  and  the  deeper  the  sin. 

Such  a  plan  does  not  appeal  to  us  as  an  ideal  for  a 
summer  excursion  or  a  time  of  feasting.  And  yet,  we 
need  to  beware  lest  we  do  what  Job  feared  his  sons 
would  do,  renounce  God  in  their  hearts,  get  just  as  far 
away  from  the  restraints  of  religion  as  we  think  we 
dare  for  the  time  being.  When  we  go  camping  in  the 
summer,  or  when  we  go  to  the  iDeach  to  spend  our 
vacation,  we  ought  to  remember  God,  we  ought  to  wor¬ 
ship  both  in  our  homes  and  on  the  Lord’s  day  just  as 
regularly  as  at  other  times.  Week  end  visits  or  excur¬ 
sions  are  often  accompanied  with  sin.  We  ought  not 
to  ape  the  world  in  this.  We  ought  to  seek  the  glory 
of  God,  diligently,  both  in  our  pleasures  and  in  our 
work.  Let  us  use  the  six  days  for  our  work  and  our 
enjoyment,  and  give  the  Sabbath  wholly  to  the  worship 
of  God. 

G  '  CHILDREN  CONSECRATED  TO  GOD’S  SERVICE 

Job’s  children  were  consecrated  to  God  and  His 
service.  He  sanctified  his  sons  and  offered  sacrifices 
on  their  behalf.  This  Job  did  not  only  once,  but  it  was 
a  regular  habit  with  him,  this  he  did  continually. 

Job  offered  burnt-offerings  for  his  children.  As  we 
study  the  meaning  of  the  burnt-offering  as  defined  in 
the  Levitical  law,  we  learn  that  the  special  significance 
which  it  conveyed  to  the  mind  of  the  worshipper  was 
that  of  entire  consecration  to  God.  No  doubt  the 


40 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


meaning  of  the  sacrifices  had  been  revealed  to  Job. 
Job  felt  the  need,  not  only  of  atonement,  but  of  conse¬ 
crating  his  children,  repeatedly,  to  God. 

Job  was  not  one  of  those  doting  fathers  who  thought 
that  his  sons  were  too  perfect  to  do  anything  that  was 
bad.  He  had  not  so  blinded  his  own  eyes  that  he 
imagined  his  sons  were  above  committing  sin.  He 
knew  that  there  was  danger  lest  they  should  renounce 
God  in  their  hearts,  and  that  they  might  allow  profane 
thoughts  to  enter  their  minds.  He  knew  that,  at  best, 
they  were  sinners  like  others,  and  needed  the  blood 
atonement  to  cover  their  sins.  He  knew  that  a  father 
ought  to  remember  his  children  in  prayer  and  commit 
them  to  the  care  of  his  heavenly  Father. 

I  have  no  doubt  but  that  Job  consecrated  his  chil¬ 
dren  to  God  from  birth,  that  if  there  was  in  his  day, 
any  rite  of  circumcision,  he  performed  it  on  behalf  of 
his  children.  But  whether  or  not  they  were  circum¬ 
cised  in  form,  they  were  circumcised  in  heart,  as  far  as 
Job  was  concerned.  He  was  a  man,  who  not  only 
“  turned  away  from  evil,”  but  desired  that  his  whole 
family  should  do  likewise.  Job’s  children  could  never 
say  that  they  could  sow  their  wild  oats  because  their 
father  did  not  care.  They  heard  him  at  prayer  on  their 
behalf  and  knew  that  he  asked  God  to  keep  them 
from  sin. 

Christian  history  inspires  us  with  its  illustrations  of 
parents  who  consecrated  their  children  to  God  from 
birth,  and  who  continued  to  uphold  them  before  God 
in  prayer. 

Dr.  A.  C.  Thompson,  in  his  book  on  “  Protestant 
Missions,”  says :  “  The  first  Protestant  mission  to 
India  originated  in  the  heart  of  a  praying  mother.” 
Bartholomew  Ziegenbalg,  the  leading  mind  of  the  first 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


41 


two  missionaries  to  India,  sailed  in  1705,  over  a  cen¬ 
tury  before  the  organization  of  the  American  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions.  How  did  Ziegenbalg  become 
consecrated,  then  enthused  with  foreign  mission  work 
in  that  early  day?  The  answer  is  found  in  the  devo¬ 
tion  and  prayers  of  his  parents,  though  they  died  when 
he  was  young.  During  the  mother’s  last  days  she 
gathered  her  children  about  her  bed  and  poured  out 
her  heart  to  them  in  the  following  words :  “  Dear  chil¬ 
dren,  I  have  a  great  treasure  for  you — a  very  great 
treasure  have  I  collected  for  you.”  The  eldest 
daughter  asked  her  where  it  was.  “  Seek  it  in  the 
Bible,  my  dear  children,”  answered  the  dying  mother; 
“  there  you  will  find  it.  I  have  watered  every  page 
with  my  tears.”  “  In  childhood  Ziegenbalg  exhibited 
unusual  seriousness.  As  a  youth  he  maintained  habits 
of  devotion  which  made  him  the  target  of  ridicule  for 
his  schoolmates. — He  and  a  friend  of  his,  Von  der 
Linde,  entered  into  a  covenant  as  follows :  ‘We  will 
seek  nothing  else  in  the  world  but  the  glory  of  God’s 
name,  the  spread  of  God’s  kingdom,  the  propagation 
of  divine  truth,  the  salvation  of  our  neighbour,  and 
the  constant  sanctification  of  our  own  souls,  wherever 
we  may  be  and  whatever  of  cross-bearing  and  suffering 
it  may  occasion  us.’  ”  To  become  pioneers  at  that 
time  was  a  very  different  thing  from  what  it  is  now  to 
make  an  offer  of  foreign  service.  There  was  then  prej¬ 
udice  at  home  and  hatred  abroad. 

About  half-a-century  later  (1750)  Christian  Fred¬ 
erick  Schwartz  sailed  for  Tranquebar.  “  Like  many 
another  missionary  Schwartz  had  a  pious  mother, 
who  died  during  his  infancy,  but  who,  just  before  de¬ 
cease,  informed  her  husband  and  her  pastor  that  she 
had  dedicated  her  son  to  the  Lord;  and  she  obtained 


42 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


from  them  the  pledge  that  he  should  be  informed  of 
this,  should  be  trained  accordingly,  and  if  he  chose 
the  ministry,  they  would  give  him  encouragement.” 
Providence  directed  him  toward  the  mission  field 
through  his  father  and  his  professors.  When  he  came 
to  ask  his  father’s  consent  he  received  his  blessing,  and 
he  bade  him  go  in  God’s  name,  forgetting  native  land 
and  kindred  that  he  might  win  souls  to  Christ.  His 
mother’s  dedication  was  crowned  with  the  father’s 
benediction. 

Dr.  W.  M.  Taylor,  when  speaking  upon  “  Paul  the 
Missionary,”  touches  one’s  heart  with  this  thrilling 
account  of  the  consecration  of  Thomas  M’Crie  and  of 
himself.1  “  When  Thomas  M’Crie,  the  biographer  of 
John  Knox,  was  setting  out  as  a  lad  from  his  country 
home  for  Edinburgh,  there  to  enter  upon  his  first  ses¬ 
sion  of  university  life,  his  mother  went  with  him  for 
a  portion  of  the  way :  and  when  at  length  they  came  to 
the  place  where  they  had  to  part,  she  took  him  into  a 
field  by  the  wayside,  knelt  down  wtih  him  beside  a 
stock  of  standing  corn-sheaves — for  it  was  the  time  of 
harvest — and  fervently  besought  for  him  the  blessing 
of  the  Lord.  His  son  tells  us  that  he  never  forgot  that 
prayer;  and  that  its  influence  for  inspiration  and  for 
strength  was  with  him  through  his  life.”  Dr.  Taylor 
adds,  concerning  himself :  “  And  if  I  may  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  refer  to  my  own  history,  I  recall  with  pe¬ 
culiar  vividness  at  this  moment  the  last  evening  at  my 
father’s  fireside  before  I  set  out  for  college  life.  I  had 
never  been  away  from  home  for  any  length  of  time 
before ;  a  great  city  like  Glasgow  was,  to  a  boy  brought 
up  in  a  provincial  town,  full  of  perils;  and  so  a  strange 
commingling  of  joy  and  trepidation  was  in  my  heart. 


1  P.  372. 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


43 


“  After  family  worship  my  father  took  me  with  him 
into  his  own  place  for  secret  prayer;  and  as  we  knelt 
together,  he  put  his  hand  upon  my  shoulder,  and 
poured  out  his  heart  for  me  before  God.  I  think  I  feel 
that  hand  upon  my  shoulder  now;  and  looking  back 
through  the  years  of  the  past,  I  can  remember  many 
times  when  the  memory  of  that  prayer  was  a  solace,  a 
stimulus,  a  support.  It  has  been  better  to  me  than 
would  have  been  the  legacy  of  a  millionaire;  and  if 
some  similar  home-scene  should  by  my  words  be 
brought  even  now  before  any  of  you  who  are  yet 
‘  strangers  from  the  commonwealth  of  promise,’  let 
that  plead  with  you  tonight  to  bring  you  to  the  Lord !  ” 

Oh,  the  untold  possibilities  of  a  Christian  home! 
Oh,  the  responsibilities  and  opportunities  of  devoted 
Christian  parents,  who  are  ready  to  consecrate  their 
children  to  the  service  of  God!  Would  that  every 
child  had  parents  like  Job!  If  so,  there  would  be  no 
barren  cry  on  the  part  of  the  church  for  men  to  lead 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  either  at  home  or  abroad. 

MAKING  GOD  THE  SOURCE  OE  CONTENTMENT  AND  JOY 

God  in  the  home  is  the  source  of  contentment  and 
joy.  Job  did  not  have  modern  conveniences  in  his 
house.  He  could  not  turn  on  the  hot  or  cold  water  at 
pleasure.  He  could  not  turn  a  button  and  have  his 
house  flooded  with  light.  He  did  not  dream  of 
vacuum  cleaners  and  electric  washers.  His  wife  and 
daughters  had  to  sweep  the  floors  with  an  old- 
fashioned  broom  and  wash  the  clothes  with  their 
hands.  But  Job’s  wife  did  not  apply  for  a  divorce. 
There  are  many  women  applying  for  divorces  in  these 
days  on  the  ground  that  their  husbands  are  cruel,  and 
when  the  details  of  the  alleged  cruelty  are  sifted  out,  it 


44 


THE  IDEAL  HOME 


is  discovered  that  they  are  not  satisfied  because  their 
husbands  have  not  furnished  them  with  modern  con¬ 
veniences  in  their  work.  They  make  the  most  frivo¬ 
lous  and  unreasonable  excuses  in  applying  for  divorce. 

What  is  back  of  it  all?  It  is  because  God  is  not  in 
the  home.  God  in  the  home,  in  the  hearts  of  both 
parents  and  children,  will  make  a  happy  and  contented 
home.  It  will  make  the  parents  willing  to  bear  and 
forbear.  It  will  enable  them  to  enjoy  the  work,  as  well 
as  the  hours  which  they  give  to  pleasure. 

Job,  or  his  family,  did  not  need  a  shower  bath  and 
electric  vibrator  and  disappearing  bed  in  order  to  be 
happy  in  their  home.  Modern  conveniences  are  valu¬ 
able,  they  make  the  work  easier  and  the  drudgery  of 
the  house-wife  lighter.  But  they  are  not  essential  to  a 
happy  home.  A  family  can  be  happy  in  a  dug-out. 
And  many  a  family  has  been  happier  in  such  a  home 
than  others  who  live  in  modern  mansions.  From  what 
part  of  society  do  we  read  of  separations  and  divorces 
most  frequently,  from  the  poor  or  the  rich  ?  Riches  do 
not  make  a  home  happy  in  themselves.  Riches  may  be 
used  by  godly  people  to  promote  happiness  in  the  home, 
and  among  others.  But  it  was  something  far  deeper 
and  more  vital  that  was  the  source  of  happiness  in  the 
home  of  Job,  and  is  the  source  of  it  in  the  homes  of 
our  day.  It  is  the  love  of  God  in  the  heart,  manifest¬ 
ing  a  spirit  of  contentment,  patience,  industry,  joy,  and 
filial  devotion. 

May  God  give  us  all  homes  like  that  of  Job  where 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwells  in  both  parents  and  children, 
and  where  love  is  manifest  both  without  and  within. 


Ill 

THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 

Job  1 : 6-22 


THE  first  scene  in  the  drama  of  Job  portrays  a 
happy  gathering  upon  earth.  The  second, 
which  is  included  in  the  passage  before  us, 
depicts  a  concourse  in  heaven.  In  the  former  scene  we 
saw  a  prosperous  home  in  which  there  was  enjoyment 
and  love.  The  love  of  God  was  never  forgotten  even 
in  the  days  of  their  pleasure.  Today,  we  witness  the 
wrecking  of  that  home.  But  it  was  not  wrecked  by 
immorality  or  the  sale  of  virtue.  Did  not  the  enemy 
of  souls  engineer  the  wrecking  of  that  home?  Yes, 
but  in  doing  so  he  only  touched  the  body.  He  was 
bent  upon  wrecking  their  souls,  but  he  failed.  He 
could  not  gain  the  victory  over  the  souls  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  that  household.  In  touching  their  property,  or 
mortal  frames,  he  was  not  getting  at  the  real  life,  he 
was  only  destroying  the  house  in  which  the  soul  lived. 
They  could  not  be  harmed  because  they  were  safe 
behind  the  blood. 

Today  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  great 
problem  that  is  presented  and  solved  in  the  Book  of 
Job.  Why  do  the  righteous  suffer?  How  is  God  good 
when  He  sees  His  people  spoiled  of  their  property  and 
tortured  or  slain?  Why  does  He  permit  Satan  to  be 
the  awful  scavenger  that  he  is? 

It  is  nothing  new  or  strange  to  see  men  suffer. 
Today,  the  whole  world  knows  what  suffering  is  as  it 

45 


46 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


has  perhaps  never  known  it  in  the  ages  past.  The  war, 
and  conditions  which  have  followed,  leave  few  homes 
untouched.  The  official  report,  given  out  recently, 
showed  that  in  1920,  968  out  of  every  1,000  babies  in 
Vienna  died  of  starvation.  The  suffering  in  eastern 
Europe  and  in  Western  and  Northern  Asia  during 
the  past  year  is  overwhelming  in  its  intensity  and 
magnitude. 

Suffering  from  robbers,  or  lightning,  or  hurricane, 
or  war,  or  famine,  or  pestilence,  is  not  new.  But  that 
which  is  new,  is,  having  the  curtain  drawn  aside  that 
we  may  look  behind  the  scenes  and  know  the  plans  in 
heaven  and  in  hell.  To  get  a  glimpse  behind  the  scenes 
and  read  the  record  causes  us  to  stand  in  amazement. 
That  which  puzzles  us  is,  why  did  God  issue  the  chal¬ 
lenge  to  Satan?  We  know  that  there  is  evil  in  the 
world,  that  Satan  is  the  father  of  lies,  and  that  even 
within  the  heart  of  man  there  is  an  evil  nature.  But 
perhaps  we  never  imagined  before,  that  God  would 
issue  a  challenge  like  this  to  Satan.  Many  earnest  men 
have  been  seriously  puzzled  over  this,  for  it  is  a  prob¬ 
lem  that  is  not  easily  solved. 

Why  did  Job  suffer  as  he  did? 

JOB  WAS  AN  EXAMPLE 

Job  lived  before  the  Bible  had  been  written.  God 
took  care  that  men  should  have  examples,  both  for 
their  warning  and  encouragement.  Paul  tells  us  con¬ 
cerning  the  people  of  Israel,  “  Now  all  these  things 
happened  unto  them  for  ensamples :  and  they  are  writ¬ 
ten  for  our  admonition.”  1  James  enforces  the  same 
truth :  “  Take,  my  brethren,  the  prophets,  who  have 
spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  for  an  example  of 


11  Cor.  10:11. 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


47 


suffering  affliction,  and  of  patience. — Ye  have  heard 
of  the  patience  of  Job/’  2  God  made  examples  of  some 
men  who  were  sinners,  in  bringing  some  marked  judg¬ 
ment  upon  them  that  others  might  be  warned  and  not 
follow  the  same  course.  God  made  examples  of  some 
men  who  were  godly  in  allowing  them  to  pass  through 
severe  straits,  but  delivering  them  in  a  remarkable 
manner,  that  men  might  know  that  “  he  ruleth  in  the 
armies  of  heaven  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth,  and  none  can  stay  his  hand  or  say  unto  him, 
what  doest  thou,  or  why  doest  thou  thus  ?  ” 

BEFORE  THE  ADVENT  OF  CHRIST,  GOD  USED  MANY 

GOOD  MEN  AS  TYPES 

Job  was  a  type  of  Christ.  As  a  type  of  Christ,  as 
one  who  suffered  patiently,  Job  has  no  peer.  Christ 
was  patient  in  enduring  suffering.  “  He  was  led  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  his  shear¬ 
ers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth.” 

Job  was  like  Christ  in  that  he  was  a  man  upon  whom 
Satan  did  his  worst.  Because  of  his  perfection  Satan 
made  a  special  target  of  him,  that  he  might  cause  him 
to  fall,  and  expecting  to  make  great  capital  of  it :  but 
he  failed. 

Job  was  like  Christ  in  that  he  was  tempted  of  his 
own  friends  during  his  suffering.  He  was  like  his 
Lord  in  that  he  had  to  resist  alone,  because  even  his 
wife  advised  him  that  death  was  better  than  life,  that 
he  should  curse  God  and  die. 

Job  was  like  his  Master  also,  in  that,  when  he 
overcame  the  tempter  he  became  an  intercessor  on 
behalf  of  others  who  had  sinned.  He  prayed  for 
them. 


2  Jas.  5 : 10,  11. 


48 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


IT  IS  GOD  WHO  TAKES  THE  INITIATIVE  IN 
PROVING  VIRTUE 

It  has  been  well  said,  “  It  would  be  inconsistent  with 
divine  wisdom  to  suppose  that  God  was  led  on  and 
beguiled  by  the  sneer  of  his  own  creature  to  do  what 
was  needless  or  unfair  or  opposed  to  His  own  plan  of 
creation.”  God  did  not  advise  Satan  to  attack  Job. 
He  offered  no  temptation,  nor  did  he  encourage  any. 
“  God  cannot  be  tempted  of  evil,  neither  tempteth  he 
any  man.”  When  Job  was  tempted  God  enabled  him 
to  resist  the  temptation.  He  said  to  Satan,  as  He 
always  says  by  the  life  of  a  virtuous  man :  “  Here  is  a 
godly  man,  let  the  world  take  note  of  his  life.” 

God  had  searched  the  heart  of  Job:  Satan  had  not. 
We  often  attribute  too  much  knowledge  to  Satan. 
He  cannot  search  the  heart  and  determine  whether  it  is 
regenerate,  as  God  can.  Satan  always  suspects  the 
man  who  appears  godly,  and  tries  to  prove  that  his 
profession  is  only  veneer.  He  tries  to  show  that  there 
is  a  sinister  aim  in  every  godly  man.  He  throws  out 
insinuations ;  so  and  so  does  not  fear  God  for  nothing. 
He  is  prospering,  change  his  outward  circumstances 
and  see  if  you  do  not  see  a  different  man.  His  theory 
is  that  every  good  man  is  only  a  Dr.  Jekyll  dressed  in 
Mr.  Hyde’s  clothes. 

But  in  his  guess,  or  his  charge,  Satan  is  often  foiled. 
It  is  an  honour  to  God  and  a  witness  to  the  sustaining 
power  of  His  grace  when  man  passes  through  the  fire 
and  comes  out  unscathed.  God  never  doubted  the  re¬ 
sult  of  this  contest.  He  knew  the  heart  of  Job.  He 
knew  the  utmost  limits  of  Satan.  It  was  no  reckless 
challenge  that  He  made.  There  was  no  danger  that 
the  results  would  be  unfavourable  to  Him. 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME  49 

It  is  a  sad  confession  which  we  must  make,  that 
there  are  many  cases  in  which  Satan’s  guess  is  right. 
There  are  many  who  do  not  fear  God  for  nought. 
They  are,  as  is  said  of  some  Orientals,  “  rice  Chris¬ 
tians.”  They  may  be  loaded  with  wealth  and  enjoy 
luxurious  homes  and  proud  families,  but  Satan  is  often 
right  in  supposing  that  they  are  selfish  underneath  it 
all.  When  men  are  sifted  it  is  too  often  true  that  their 
reputation,  or  titles,  or  place  of  power,  or  place  of 
business,  or  farm,  is  their  paradise.  It  is  like  an  oasis 
in  the  desert  to  see  a  character  like  Job,  tried,  yet  not 
found  wanting.  It  is  a  testimony  both  to  the  honour 
of  God  and  to  Christian  faith. 

In  setting  before  us  the  character  of  Job,  God  does 
not  set  up  a  monstrosity.  Job  is  entirely  human,  the 
characters  who  have  to  do  with  him  are  human.  The 
calamities  and  temptations  are  not  at  all  impossible  or 
improbable.  The  calamities  which  befell  him,  because 
of  their  suddenness  and  succession  and  terribleness, 
were  unusual.  But  it  is  all  within  easy  range  of 
possibility. 

Job’s  children  seem  to  have  been  enjoying  the  first 
family  feast  of  the  season.  They  had  gathered  in  the 
eldest  brother’s  house.  Job  had  offered  the  morning 
sacrifice,  as  usual.  He  had  slain  the  sacrifice  and 
poured  out  its  blood  upon  the  ground,  and  had  taken 
its  carcass  and  placed  it  upon  the  altar.  He  had  taken 
another  and  another,  until  there  were  ten  sacrifices 
which  had  been  offered,  one  on  behalf  of  the  sins  of 
every  one  of  his  children.  He  had  poured  out  his  sup¬ 
plications  to  God.  He  had  asked  God  to  sanctify  them. 
He  had  been  particularly  fervent  on  that  morning,  be¬ 
cause  it  was  a  feast  day,  and  he  was  anxious,  like  many 
another  Christian  parent,  lest  during  the  time  of  feast- 


50 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


ing  or  merriment  his  children  had  forgotten  God,  or 
engaged  in  some  amusement  which  would  not  be 
honouring  to  Him. 

The  old  father  had  thus  remembered  his  children 
before  God.  He  had  seen  the  servants  on  their  way  to 
work  in  the  fields,  riding  the  asses  and  bearing  the 
plows  on  their  backs,  then  hitching  the  oxen  to  them 
that  they  might  tear  up  the  soil  in  preparation  for  an¬ 
other  crop.  He  had  perhaps  been  busy  during  the 
portion  of  the  day  that  was  past,  meeting  those  who 
had  been  unfortunate  as  they  came  for  alms.  He  had 
distributed  to  many  a  hungry  hand  and  weary  souk 
He  had  rejoiced  that  God  had  so  prospered  him  that 
he  had  been  able  to  give  to  those  who  were  needy. 
The  smoke  of  those  ten  sacrifices  had  not  ceased  to 
rise  from  the  altar,  when,  all  at  once,  he  sees  a  mes¬ 
senger  hastening  across  the  field  at  full  speed.  As  the 
runner  gasps  for  breath  he  moans,  that  while  his  fel¬ 
low  servants  were  plowing,  with  the  asses  feeding 
beside  him,  the  Sabeans,  with  terrible  ferocity,  had  put 
all  the  rest  to  the  sword  and  had  driven  away  the 
oxen  and  asses,  and  he  alone  of  all  the  servants  had 
escaped  to  tell  the  tale. 

Before  Job  had  time  to  ask  questions  about  this 
disaster,  another  with  streaming  hair  and  fright¬ 
ened  face  hastens  into  their  presence,  and  in  his 
excitement,  forgetting  all  formalities,  bursts  out  with 
the  message :  “  Lightning  has  fallen  from  heaven  and 
has  burned  up  the  sheep  together  with  the  shepherds, 
and  I  am  the  only  one  who  has  escaped  to  tell  the 
sad  news.” 

The  full  record  of  this  disaster  had  not  been  fully 
related,  when  a  dark,  swarthy,  camel  driver  rushed 
into  his  presence.  Almost  fainting  with  fright  and 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME  51 

exhaustion,  he  told  of  a  fierce  raid  which  a  cruel  band 
of  Chaldeans  had  made  upon  the  camels  and  their 
drivers,  so  that  not  one  of  the  three  thousand  camels 
was  left.  Nor  had  any  of  the  camel  drivers  escaped 
except  this  one,  who  had  evaded  the  fearful  attack  of 
the  robber  band.  All  the  others  had  been  slain. 

The  poor  old  man,  now  robbed  of  all  of  his  prop¬ 
erty,  his  servants  all  slain  except  the  three  who  had 
merely  escaped  with  their  lives,  was  looking  aghast, 
when  another  with  clothes  torn,  bareheaded  and  breath¬ 
less,  rushed  up  with  a  more  frightened  countenance, 
and  a  more  fearful  tale  than  any  who  had  yet  appeared. 
He  gasped  out  his  heart-rending  message,  that  while 
Job’s  sons  and  daughters  were  feasting  a  hurricane 
struck  the  house  and  shattered  it  in  pieces,  crushing 
out  the  lives  of  all  of  his  children  and  he  alone  had 
escaped  to  tell  of  the  fearful  wreck.  Do  you  wonder 
that  Job  arose  and  tore  his  mantle?  Is  it  strange  that 
he  did  this  as  a  sign  of  great  grief?  Would  you  have 
expected  him  to  collapse  with  the  nervous  shock,  and 
groan  with  mental  derangement,  at  the  thought  of  the 
overwhelming,  multiple  loss  of  children,  servants,  and 
property  ? 

During  the  war,  some  friends  from  an  eastern  city 
told  us  of  a  woman  in  that  city,  who,  one  day  as  she 
was  beginning  to  give  her  babe  a  bath  was  called  to  the 
door.  When  she  reached  the  door  she  noticed  some 
one  who  had  fallen  at  the  step  and  was  badly  injured. 
She  rushed  out  to  help  without  waiting  to  read  the  tele¬ 
gram  that  was  handed  to  her.  When  she  read  the 
telegram  it  brought  the  news  that  her  husband  had 
fallen  at  the  front.  The  excitement  and  the  sad  mes¬ 
sage  caused  delay,  so  that  when  she  returned  to  her 
babe  the  water  had  risen  in  the  bath  tub  and  it  was 


52 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


drowned.  The  shock  was  so  terrible,  and  it  all  came 
so  suddenly,  that  she  lost  her  mind.  Her  friends  had 
to  take  her  away  to  the  asylum. 

Her  shock  was  exceedingly  severe,  though  not  so 
multiplied  as  that  which  came  to  Job.  What  was  the 
difference?  Why  did  not  Job  become  a  madman  in 
place  of  calmly  saying,  “  Naked  came  I  out  of  my 
mother’s  womb,  naked  shall  I  return  thither :  the  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away;  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord  ”?  The  end  of  life,  the  purpose  of 
existence,  was  evidently  built  upon  an  entirely  different 
basis  in  the  minds  of  those  two  who  faced  disaster. 
Job’s  philosophy  of  life,  made  not  his  own  happiness, 
nor  even  the  existence  of  his  family,  the  end  of  life. 
He  knew  that  life  did  not  depend  upon  material  things, 
or  even  upon  the  presence  of  family  and  friends;  he 
knew  that  after  this  life  the  body  would  decay,  worms 
would  destroy  it,  but  he  believed  that  whatever  might 
befall,  he  would  see  God.  He  believed  that  he  would 
dwell  with  Him  forever.  Moreover,  he  had  faith  to 
believe  that  though  his  children  had  lost  their  lives  in 
the  storm,  that  they  had  lived  in  trust  in  God  and  they 
had  besought  God’s  favour  through  the  atoning  blood. 
After  all,  it  was  not  their  loss,  but  their  gain.  They 
had  gone  from  a  mansion  here ;  they  had  found  a  more 
glorious  mansion  there.  He  could  endure  a  lonely  life, 
it  was  a  very  heavy  burden,  but  he  knew  that  he  would 
see  God  at  last  and  be  with  them  through  all  eternity. 
Is  this  crediting  Job  with  too  much  of  the  Gospel?  As 
we  shall  progress  in  our  study  of  Job  we  shall  see  that 
it  is  not.  Job  had  a  much  clearer  idea  of  the  Gospel 
and  of  eternity,  than  those  do  who  cannot  find  the 
Gospel  in  Job. 

But  the  problem  still  confronts  us,  why  should  God 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


53 


in  this  case,  why  should  He  so  frequently  in  the  lives 
of  His  people,  permit  severe  suffering  and  the  breaking 
up  of  happy  homes?  Let  us  endeavour  to  face  the 
problem,  and  discover  that  God  is  a  perfectly  just  and 
loving  God  though  He  deals  thus  with  men.  Yes,  He 
is  just  and  loving  because  He  does  this,  it  is  even  a 
manifestation  of  His  love. 

THE  END  OE  life  is  NOT  HAPPINESS 

The  Epicurean  in  his  philosophy,  in  the  days  of 
Paul,  declared  that  the  end  of  life  was  happiness.  This 
is  the  solution  which  has  entered  into  the  philosophy 
of  many  since  that  day  and  has  depraved  the  thinking 
of  many  a  man,  down  to  Herbert  Spencer  and  Paley, 
and  their  disciples  today.  Yes,  so  acceptable  has  this 
philosophy  been  to  the  minds  of  men,  that  all  over  the 
world  there  are  voices,  Christian  and  non-Christian, 
which  are  declaring  that  life  is  intended  for  enjoyment. 
That  which  gives  enjoyment  is  said  to  be  good,  and 
that  which  causes  suffering  and  pain  is  pronounced 
evil.  Anything  that  reduces  the  body,  or  the  capacity 
of  the  body  for  enjoyment  is  bad,  so  thought  Mr. 
Spencer.  This  philosophy  underlies  many  of  the  ser¬ 
mons,  and  much  of  the  religious  belief,  and  teaching, 
of  the  present  time.  There  is  no  book  that  needs  to 
be  studied,  by  men  who  attempt  to  formulate  a  phi¬ 
losophy  of  life,  more  than  that  of  Job. 

Paley’s  study  of  life  leads  him  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  chief  aim  of  God  is,  to  make  His  creatures  happy 
in  this  world.  Now  if  Spencer  and  Paley  are  right; 
if  a  host  of  respected  religious  teachers  and  professed 
Christian  optimists  are  right ;  then  God,  in  bringing 
affliction  and  sorrow  and  pain  upon  his  servant  Job, 
was  the  cruel  enemy  of  man.  Spencer  refuses  to  be 


54 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


called  a  materialist,  but  the  reasoning  of  the  Book  of 
Job,  if  we  interpret  it  aright,  places  Spencer  and  all 
who  accept  such  a  philosophy  of  life,  in  the  circle  of 
materialists. 

Human  nature  is  so  averse  to  pain  that  we  have 
come  to  consider  pain  a  synonym  for  evil.  But  when 
we  get  the  matter  clearly  before  us  we  must  conclude 
that  pain  and  loss  are  not  evil,  they  are  not  in  any  sense 
evil.  We  have  absorbed  remnants  of  heathen  phi¬ 
losophy.  We  have  allowed  ourselves  to  think  in  the 
common  strain,  that  rebellion  against  divinity  is  al¬ 
ways  the  immediate  antecedent  of  pain  and  sorrow  and 
disaster.  We  forget,  in  such  reasoning,  that  the 
wicked  often  prosper,  that  sometimes  “  they  are  not  in 
trouble  as  other  men;  neither  are  they  plagued  like 
other  men.”  3  We  forget  that  chastisement  may  also 
cause  pain. 

While  happiness  and  enjoyment  are  thought  of  as 
the  principal  exponents  of  salvation  we  cannot  call 
religion  pure.  While  happiness  is  the  main  promise  of 
the  man  who  offers  the  Christian  religion,  the  whole 
basis  of  religion  is  on  a  wrong  foundation.  This  ideal 
will  not  build  the  strongest  and  most  virtuous  Chris¬ 
tian  character.  If  happiness  is  our  aim,  then  it  may  be 
well  asked,  as  did  Satan  concerning  Job,  doth  this  man 
serve  God  for  nought? 

The  honour  of  God,  the  gift  of  God,  which  is  ever¬ 
lasting  life,  apart  from  either  pleasure  or  pain,  is  what 
man  is  to  seek.  He  may  find  it  in  a  life  of  pain,  he 
may  find  it  in  a  life  of  happiness;  but  either  should  be 
made  to  minister  to  the  higher  aim  of  life.  The 
favourite  philosophy  of  today,  the  avowed  aim  of  most 
social  theorists,  is  to  secure  happiness  for  all.  Their 


3  Ps.  73 :  5. 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


55 


dream  is  to  make  the  struggle  of  man  upon  earth  so 
easy  that  he  shall  have  no  need  for  personal  endeavour. 
He  is  to  serve  even  here  and  now  for  happiness,  and 
that  is  to  be  his  desire  and  goal. 

But  would  such  an  ideal  not  lead  human  beings  to 
doubt  God  when  they  have  little  pleasure,  or  when 
they  are  physically  handicapped  through  life?  Would 
they  not  say  that  if  they  do  not  enjoy  the  best  of  this 
world  that  they  have  lost  all?  The  trouble  is  that  in 
this  ideal  of  happiness  which  underlies  so  much  of  our 
philosophy,  men  are  really  seeking  after  a  new  god,  and 
this  while  they  discourse  about  the  greatness  of  the 
world  which  God  has  made,  the  wonders  of  His 
creation,  and  the  blessings  of  His  provision. 

HAPPINESS  MAY  BE  PUNISHMENT,  SUEEERING  MAY 

BE  KINDNESS 

Pleasure  and  pain  are  both  appointed  of  God. 
Either  may  be  used  to  promote  Christian  character, 
either  may  be  used  to  lead  men  into  deeper  sin.  Hap¬ 
piness  may  be  punishment.  It  is  punishment  to  him 
whose  sin,  whose  unbelief,  perverts  his  view  of  truth 
and  blinds  him  to  the  true  ideals  of  life  and  the  will  of 
God.  The  pleasures  of  a  sinner  are  not  a  gain,  they 
are  a  loss.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pains  and  sufferings 
which  fall  to  the  lot  of  evil  men  which  are  given  for 
their  warning,  if  in  blindness  of  soul  they  are  misun¬ 
derstood,  become  a  punishment,  and  the  life  is  made 
worse.  Thus  either  happiness  or  suffering  may  make 
a  life  worse,  either  may  be  a  punishment. 

The  world  and  its  discipline,  its  sufferings,  the  trials 
of  men,  the  doctrine  of  the  cross,  and  the  fellowship 
of  the  suffering  of  Christ,  are  not  intended  to  intro¬ 
duce  us  merely  to  a  state  of  enjoyment  or  the  gratifi- 


56 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


cation  of  our  personal  desires.  They  are  intended  to 
develop  in  us  a  stronger  faith  and  a  nobler  and  holier 
life.  Our  Lord  solved  the  problem  long  ago  in  simple 
language  which  we  have  often  failed  to  comprehend, 
when  He  said,  our  life  is  more  than  meat  and  our  body 
than  raiment.  Then  in  our  seasons  of  enjoyment  we 
ought  to  be  especially  careful  as  to  what  we  eat,  and 
what  we  drink,  and  what  we  wear,  and  what  our  atti¬ 
tude  of  mind  is  toward  all  these  things,  for  our  happi¬ 
ness  may  tend  to  evil  and  while  we  are  seeking  it  we 
may  be  preparing  for  punishment.  Joy  may  be  pun¬ 
ishment  as  well  as  pain.  If  by  either  we  are  made 
worse,  we  are  punished. 

PAIN  AND  MORAL,  EVIE  ARE  ENTIREEY  DISTINCT 

The  house  of  Job  was  wrecked,  but  what  of  it? 
It  was  a  physical  wreck  and  not  a  moral  one.  How 
much  worse  would  it  have  been  if  it  had  been  a  moral 
wreck. 

Luther  was  said  to  have  dreamed  that  he  saw  Satan 
gather  about  him  his  hosts  of  evil  angels  to  receive 
reports  of  their  deeds  in  the  world.  One  reported  that 
he  had  raised  a  wind  in  the  desert  and  had  destroyed  a 
party  of  Christians  who  were  crossing  it.  “  What  of 
that,”  said  the  Devil,  “  their  souls  were  all  saved.” 
Another  said  that  he  had  aroused  a  wind  on  the  sea 
and  had  sent  to  the  bottom  a  vessel  laden  with  mission¬ 
aries.  “  What  of  that,”  said  Satan,  “  their  souls  were 
saved.”  Another  reported,  “  I  have  been  working  for 
ten  years  to  put  a  single  soul  to  sleep  and  have  finally 
succeeded.”  Then  the  Devil  and  all  the  angels  of  hell 
shouted  for  joy. 

If  you  should  read  a  detailed  report  of  a  society 
which  cares  for  neglected  children,  you  would  get  a 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


57 


glimpse  of  the  disaster  which  falls  upon  homes  where 
immorality  has  entered.  The  most  of  the  children  who 
have  suffered,  and  have  been  taken  under  the  care  of 
a  society  which  cares  for  destitute  children  have 
usually  come  from  homes  which  were  not  physical,  but 
moral  wrecks.  If  poverty  had  come  and  deprived  the 
parents  of  food,  if  fire  had  taken  hold  and  burned  the 
house  to  ashes,  if  the  wind  had  blown  and  torn  the 
house  to  pieces,  the  home  might  be  physically  wrecked 
but  as  different  as  light  from  darkness,  from  those 
homes  which  have  been  moral  wrecks.  There  might 
be  physical  suffering  and  poverty  without  evil,  there 
might  be  pain  and  weakness  and  disease,  yet  that  suf¬ 
fering  might  be  working  out  the  perfection  of  char¬ 
acter  in  the  mother,  or  the  little  child  which  was  left 
destitute. 

Pain  ought  always  to  develop  virtue,  but  pain  may 
be  sent  upon  the  virtuous  while  the  sinner  goes  on  en¬ 
joying  the  pleasures  of  this  world  and  sinking  deeper 
in  sin.  There  may  be  sins  which,  when  indulged  in, 
will  almost  inevitably  bring  pain.  On  the  other  hand 
there  may  be  righteous  deeds  which  will  almost  in¬ 
evitably  bring  pain.  As  an  instance  of  the  former, 
one  may  be  an  habitual  drinker  of  liquor.  He  will 
suffer  for  it,  and  men  will  say,  “  the  result  of  his  sins.” 
As  an  instance  of  the  latter,  a  righteous  man  may  go 
as  a  missionary  to  Turkey.  He  will  almost  inevitably 
suffer  in  some  manner.  He  may  be  beaten  and  left 
half-dead,  he  may  be  thrown  into  prison,  he  may  suffer 
hunger,  he  may  see  his  loved  ones  taken  from  him 
while  he  looks  on  helplessly.  But  with  all  his  suffer¬ 
ing,  he  is  honouring  God,  and  is  growing  into  a  nobler 
and  holier  saint. 

Job  suffered,  not  because  he  was  tending  to  sin,  or 


58 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


sinful  ways.  He  was  tried,  he  was  tried  severely,  but 
he  came  forth  purer,  stronger,  holier,  and  richer  than 
before.  After  his  suffering  he  could  sympathize  with 
the  suffering  as  he  could  not  before,  he  could  commune 
with  God  in  a  more  intimate  manner,  he  was  a  better 
husband,  a  better  father,  and  better  fitted  for  fellow¬ 
ship  with  Christ.  As  a  result,  today,  he  is  a  better 
example  to  all  the  world. 

When  we  have  gone  the  round,  seeking  a  solution 
of  this  great  problem,  why  the  righteous  suffer,  we 
inevitably  come  back  to  Christ  and  the  Cross  which  He 
bore  at  calvary.  He  suffered  in  all  points.  He  was  a 
man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief.  He  bore 
our  sins  upon  the  tree.  Suffering  was  not  degrading 
to  Him.  He  was  devoted  to  his  Father,  to  His  work, 
and  to  those  whom  He  loved  among  men.  Sin  pre¬ 
sented  more  of  a  horror  to  Him  than  pain.  He  was 
ready  to  be  made  perfect  through  suffering  that  He 
might  enter  into  glory. 

When  we  are  thinking  of  our  homes  and  are  making 
an  application  of  the  life  of  Job,  we  remember  the 
awful  hour  of  the  wrecking  of  that  home.  What  a 
good  thing,  that  when  the  wreck  came,  it  found  that 
family  in  a  worshipful  mood!  What  if  they  had 
renounced  God  in  their  hearts?  We  never  know 
whether  a  crash  will  come,  or  when  it  will  come.  It 
may  come  when  we  are  in  the  midst  of  our  merriment. 
Would  it  always  find  us  like  Job,  in  a  devout,  prayer¬ 
ful  spirit? 

Therefore,  may  we  turn  all  our  pains  and  our  sor¬ 
rows,  as  well  as  our  joys,  to  the  benefit  of  our  souls 
and  the  honour  of  our  Ford.  May  they  serve  to  draw 
us  nearer  to  Him.  When  He  gives  us  blessings  may 
we  rejoice  in  Him,  and  when  He  sends  sorrows  may 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IDEAL  HOME 


59 


we  consider  our  frail  and  mortal  natures  and  remember 
that  in  Him  there  is  life,  life  now,  and  for  evermore. 
May  our  lives  be  knit  to  His  in  a  bond  of  inseparable 
love  and  unending  testimony  and  service. 

“  Leaving  the  cloud  and  the  tempest, 

Reaching  the  balm  and  the  cheer, 

Finding  the  end  of  our  sorrow. 

Finding  the  end  of  our  fear. 

Seeing  the  face  of  the  Master. 

Yearned  for  in  ‘distance  and  dream/ 

Oh !  for  that  rapture  of  gladness ! 

Oh,  for  that  vision  supreme  ! 

“  Meeting  the  dear  ones  departed 

Knowing  them,  clasping  their  hands, 

All  the  beloved  and  true-hearted 
There  in  the  fairest  of  lands ! 

Sin  evermore  left  behind  us, 

Pain  nevermore  to  distress; 

Changing  the  moan  for  the  music, 

Living  the  Saviour  to  bless. 

“  There  we  shall  learn  the  sweet  meanings 
Hidden  to-day  from  our  eyes ; 

There  we  shall  waken  like  children 
Joyous  at  gift  and  surprise. 

Come  then,  dear  Lord,  in  the  gloaming, 

Or  where  the  dawning  is  gray ! 

Take  us  to  dwell  in  the  presence — 

Only  thyself  lead  the  way.” 


IV 

LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN 

Job  2:1-13 


THE  man  who  is  rich  is  generally  a  man  of  ease 
and  therefore  less  inured  to  the  hardships  which 
many  endure.  When  he  is  called  upon  to  en¬ 
dure  hardships  he  is  usually  less  courageous  under 
them,  and  the  first  to  complain.  He  is  apt  to  make  any 
sort  of  a  compromise  in  order  that  he  may  escape  from 
the  suffering  which  falls  to  his  lot. 

Though  Job  was  rich  he  had  never  pampered  him¬ 
self  or  allowed  others  to  pamper  him.  He  was  the 
greatest  of  the  men  of  the  East,  and  yet  he  was  an 
ordinary  man  among  men.  He  was  one  whom  riches 
had  not  spoiled.  If  all  the  wealthy  men  of  the  world 
today,  were  as  humble  and  upright  as  Job,  there  would 
not  be  the  stigma  cast  upon  the  capitalist  that  there  is. 
The  capitalist  would  be  respected  among  working  men 
and  class  distinctions  would  be  unknown. 

Rich  men  in  Job’s  day,  however,  were  no  less  sus¬ 
ceptible  to  temptation  than  they  are  today.  Satan 
knew  that  they  were  usually  an  easy  mark  for  him. 
Satan  made  special  attacks  against  rich  men  because  he 
knew  that  they  were  more  widely  known  and  exercised 
a  greater  influence,  and  if  he  could  cause  their  down¬ 
fall  he  not  only  hastened  a  soul  to  the  realm  of  woe: 
but  he  was  more  likely  to  sweep  along  with  him,  and 
in  his  train,  a  whole  troop  of  others  that  they  might 
also  end  in  destruction. 


60 


LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN  61 

This  is  an  unusual  passage,  we  wish  you  to  note  a 
few  observations  which  we  have  made  upon  it. 

SATAN  GOES  ABROAD  IN  HIS  SEARCH  EOR  EVIG 

God  asked  Satan  where  he  had  been.  He  could 
not  name  a  single  good  deed  that  he  had  done  since 
a  former  occasion  when  the  sons  of  God  had  gath¬ 
ered  together.  The  only  non-committal  thing  that 
he  could  say  about  himself  was,  that  he  had  been 
walking  about  the  earth.  Think  of  a  spirit  always 
going  about  as  a  scavenger  among  men,  always  seek¬ 
ing  out  evil  and  never  good.  That  is  what  Satan  is 
doing. 

Satan  is  a  living  active  spirit.  At  one  time  he  was 
possessed  of  all  the  powers  of  good  that  any  of  the 
angels  had.  But  he  became  proud  and  rebellious  and 
was  cast  out  of  heaven.  Ever  since  that  day  he  is,  as  a 
roaring  lion,  going  about  seeking  whom  he  may  de¬ 
vour.  The  lion  prowls  around  in  the  darkness,  creep¬ 
ing  up  quietly  near  its  prey,  and  then  pouncing  upon 
it  and  tearing  it  to  pieces.  As  far  as  Satan  has  the 
power,  that  is  what  he  does.  He  loves  darkness  rather 
than  light.  His  deeds  are  evil,  always  evil,  and  he 
seeks  the  cover  of  darkness  for  them.  In  the  darkness 
in  our  great  cities  evil  walks  abroad  with  a  fearful 
stride,  which  it  does  not  dare  attempt  in  the  open  day. 
Satan’s  works  will  never  stand  exposure  and  publicity, 
if  they  are  to  entrap  men.  He  endeavours  to  entrap 
them  when  they  are  not  looking,  when  they  are  off 
their  guard,  or  when  they  have  the  least  power  of  re¬ 
sistance.  He  knows  that  he  is  repellent  when  seen  in 
his  true  garb  in  the  light.  Whether  it  be  fish,  or  bird, 
or  animal,  we  turn  away  with  disgust  from  the  scav¬ 
enger.  Satan  is  one  of  the  worst  of  scavengers.  Why 


62  LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN 


do  we  not  always  avoid  him?  We  know  that  he  is 
always  seeking  evil,  and  only  evil. 

SATAN  HAS  NEVER  GOTTEN  BEYOND  THE  CONTROL 

OE  GOD 

He  tried  it  while  in  heaven.  He  learned  that  he  and 
his  angels  were  in  God’s  power.  He  found  that  God 
could  cast  him  out.  But  while  God  has  cast  Satan  out 
of  the  place  of  the  holy,  He  has  never  shut  him  up  in 
the  place  of  torment,  as  yet.  He  will  one  day  be  shut 
up,  away  from  all  that  is  good  and  from  the  reach  of 
the  redeemed. 

But  even  now,  God  has  set  bounds  which  Satan  can¬ 
not  pass.  God  does  not  permit  Satan  to  tempt  His 
people  without  limitation.  He  permits  him  to  go  a 
certain  length,  in  order  that  His  people  may  be  purified 
and  learn  to  resist  evil,  as  well  as  to  love  the  good. 

God  said  to  Satan,  in  the  first  instance,  that  he  might 
not  touch  Job’s  body,  whatever  he  did  to  his  posses¬ 
sions  and  his  family.  He  said  later,  that  he  could  not 
destroy  the  life  of  his  servant.  Satan  could  not  go 
beyond  the  limit  which  God  set.  All  that  God  per¬ 
mitted  Satan  to  do,  was,  to  afflict  Job  outwardly,  then 
inwardly  for  a  time,  that  his  servant  might  come  out 
of  the  fire  as  steel,  purer  and  stronger. 

If  we  are  God’s  children  we  may  suffer.  Yes,  we 
will  suffer!  We  will,  perhaps,  suffer  severely.  One 
of  the  apostles  admonishes  us,1  “  My  brethren,  count 
it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations.  Know¬ 
ing  this,  that  the  trying  of  your  faith  worketh  patience. 
But  let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,  that  ye  may  be 
perfect  and  entire  wanting  nothing.”  Another  warns 
us,2  “  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the 


1  Jas.  1:2-4.  21  Pet.  4:12,  13. 


LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN  63 


fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange 
thing  happened  unto  you:  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as 
ye  are  partakers  of  Christ’s  sufferings;  that,  when  his 
glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with 
exceeding  joy.” 

When  we  are  afflicted,  we  ought  to  remember  that  it 
is  the  best  thing  that  could  come  upon  us,  it  is  for  our 
purification.  We  need  it  that  we  may  be  humbled 
before  God.  We  ought  never  to  complain  against  God. 
He  will  never  leave  us  nor  forsake  us.  He  never  loses 
hold  of  our  great  enemy  or  lets  him  get  beyond  His 
control.  God  sets  a  bound  which  he  cannot  pass. 
However  he  may  follow  us  in  this  world,  we  may  rest 
assured  that  God  will  never  permit  him  to  follow  us 
to  the  next. 

The  charge  that  men  care  more  for  their  own 
heaeth  and  comfort  than  for  anything 
EESE,  IS  TOO  OFTEN  TRUE 

Satan  said,  “  Skin  for  skin ;  yea,  all  that  a  man  hath 
will  he  give  for  his  life.  But  put  forth  thine  hand 
now,  and  touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh,  and  he  will  curse 
thee  to  thy  face.”  This  proverb  may  be  difficult  to  in¬ 
terpret  if  we  endeavour  to  consider  it  literally.  Some 
who  have  endeavoured  to  pick  it  to  pieces  and  to  ana¬ 
lyze  it  have  arrived  at  very  peculiar  conclusions.  There 
are  many  proverbs  or  idioms  whose  meaning  is  well 
understood,  which  will  not  bear  scrutiny  in  the  effort 
to  give  a  literal  interpretation.  For  instance,  we  hear 
the  expression,  “  they  were  taken  red-handed.”  One 
who  endeavours  to  translate  our  words  into  another 
language  may  convey  a  wrong  meaning.  It  may  be 
taken  literally,  it  may  be  used  of  one  who  is  caught 
doing  wrong  though  not  thinking  of  shedding  blood, 


64  LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN 


it  may  be  used  humourously,  merely  indicating  that 
some  one  was  found  while  in  the  act  of  doing  some¬ 
thing.  Or  the  expression,  “  A  penny  for  your 
thoughts,”  does  not  mean  that  the  person  who  is  ad¬ 
dressed  is  necessarily  a  deep  thinker,  and  we  would 
like  to  buy  his  valuable  suggestions.  We  all  under¬ 
stand  that  such  expressions  often  have  a  different 
meaning  than  that  which  appears  on  the  surface,  or  in 
a  literal  interpretation  of  the  words.  The  context 
usually  makes  the  meaning  clear. 

If  we  endeavour  to  analyze  the  proverb,  “  skin  for 
skin,”  we  will  make  ourselves  ridiculous  in  working  it 
out.  The  meaning  is,  however,  plain  enough,  that 
men  care  more  for  their  own  bodies,  their  health  and 
comfort,  than  anything  else.  That  a  man  would  give 
anything  to  save  his  skin,  was  Satan's  theory;  how¬ 
ever,  that  theory  is  not  always  true.  It  proved  to  be 
untrue  in  the  case  of  Job.  It  has  been  untrue  in  the 
case  of  every  martyr.  Satan  knew  human  nature  quite 
well,  he  knew  that  when  the  flesh  and  bone  is  touched 
that  men  feel  it  far  more  keenly  than  when  their  prop¬ 
erty  only  is  harmed,  or  when  their  friends  or  relatives 
are  injured.  He  thought  Job  was  like  the  average 
man,  that  he  would  yield  under  bodily  torture. 

The  affliction  which  Job  endured  did,  literally,  touch 
his  bones  and  his  flesh.  It  was  exceedingly  severe.  It 
is  described  as  boils  which  covered  his  whole  body. 
He  suffered  excruciating  pain  and  misery.  It  is  de¬ 
scribed  by  some,  who  have  made  a  careful  study  of 
Job’s  case,  and  of  oriental  diseases  of  that  nature,  as  a 
disease  called  elephantiasis,  one  of  the  most  terrible 
forms  of  leprosy.3  It  is  a  lingering  disease  accom¬ 
panied  with  intolerable  irritation  and  painful  and  loath- 


3  The  Expositor’s  Bible,  Job,  p.  71. 


LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN  65 


some  ulcers.  Probably  the  reason  that  he  is  said  to  sit 
among  the  ashes,  is,  that  it  was  the  common  place  for 
the  leper  outcast,  who  was  not  permitted  to  enter  his 
own  home  or  the  homes  of  others.  He  lay  down  on  the 
mound  of  ashes,  which  was  always  found  in  Arab  vil¬ 
lages.  It  was  composed  of  burned  litter  which  was  piled 
in  one  spot  year  after  year  until  a  large  mound  was 
formed.  There  the  beggar  sat,  or  lay,  to  ask  alms  of  the 
passers  by;  he  was  warmed  by  the  sun  during  the  day 
and  sheltered  by  the  ashes  at  night.  Only  a  short  time 
before,  Job  was  the  chief  man  of  the  East,  but  he  had 
fallen  until  he  was  the  most  loathsome  of  the  outcasts. 

As  the  lepers  were  despondent  and  immoral  in  char¬ 
acter,  as  a  rule,  because  they  were  cast  out  by  society 
and  most  of  them  felt  deserted  of  God,  so  Satan  as¬ 
serted  Job  would  fall.  If  there  was  any  place  on  earth 
which  would  tempt  him  to  declare  that  there  was  no 
God,  or  that  God  was  cruel,  it  was  out  there  on  the  pile 
of  ashes,  bereft  of  family,  robbed  of  property,  broken 
in  health,  suffering  the  greatest  pain,  loathed  by  his 
fellowmen,  and  advised  of  his  wife  to  curse  God 
and  die. 

The  man  who  has  been  very  ill,  whose  body  has  been 
wasted,  and  who  has  suffered  from  extreme  weakness 
and  pain,  is  not  always  the  most  to  be  pitied.  Some 
years  ago  a  wealthy  duke  died  leaving  two  sons.  The 
elder  one  contracted  consumption  when  a  boy,  from 
which  he  never  recovered.  He  lay  ill  for  many  weeks, 
but  bore  his  weakness  and  suffering  patiently.  Two 
ministers  went  to  see  him  at  the  family  home,  near 
Glasgow,  where  he  lay.  After  prayer  the  young  man 
took  his  Bible  from  under  his  pillow,  and  turned  to 
this  precious  passage :  “  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I 
have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith :  hence- 


66  LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN 


forth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous¬ 
ness  ” ; 3  and  as  he  looked  up  he  said :  “  This,  sirs,  is  all 
my  comfort.”  When  his  death  approached,  he  called 
his  younger  brother  to  his  side,  and  spoke  to  him  very 
tenderly,  ending  with  these  words :  “  And  now,  Doug¬ 
las,  in  a  little  time  you  will  be  a  duke,  but  I  shall  be  a 
king.”  Though  Job  was  passing  through  the  fire  God 
was  preparing  him  to  reign  with  Him. 

God  has  promised  to  care  for  His  people.  It  is 
Satan’s  object  to  convince  them  that  when  health  is 
broken,  God  is  not  caring  for  them.  Do  not  be  de¬ 
ceived  by  his  wiles.  God  was  caring  for  Job.  He 
would  not  permit  Satan  to  touch  his  life.  Trust  Him, 
and  He  will  care  for  you. 

THE  HARDEST  ENEMY  TO  RESIST  IS  THE  ENEMY 

IN  THE  HOME 

Job’s  wife  said  to  him,  “  Dost  thou  still  retain  thine 
integrity?  curse  God  and  die.”  Job  replied,  “Thou 
speakest  as  one  of  the  foolish  women  speaketh.  What! 
shall  we  receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we 
not  receive  evil?  In  all  this  did  not  Job  sin  with 
his  lips.” 

The  question  naturally  arises — why  was  Job’s  wife 
spared  when  the  rest  of  the  family  was  destroyed?  It 
may  be  that  Satan  left  her  that  she  might  tempt  Job. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  cunning  or  foresight  on 
the  part  of  Satan,  the  result  was,  she  was  a  scourge  to 
her  husband.  Job  experienced  the  difficulty  of  facing 
a  foe  in  his  own  household.  Unbelievers  in  the  home 
can  do  more  than  any  others  to  discourage  or  harass  a 
good  man.  Particularly  is  this  true  of  a  wife.  The 
wife  is  the  confidant,  and  ordinarily  the  helpmeet,  of 


3  2  Tim.  4:7. 


LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN  67 

the  husband.  She  can  be  of  special  help  in  time  of 
trouble.  When  a  man  has  all  the  trouble  that  it  would 
seem  human  nature  could  bear,  and  then  has  to  endure 
a  despondent  wife,  it  is  a  terrible  scourge. 

A  friend  told  me  of  a  man  whose  wife  was  at  that 
time  a  scoffer.  One  morning  when  some  gentlemen  of 
his  acquaintance  were  delivering  groceries  to  that 
man’s  house,  they  heard  a  very  strange  noise.  As  it 
was  warm  weather  and  the  door  of  the  house  was  open, 
as  they  drew  near  they  looked  in,  and  a  very  strange 
sight  met  their  eyes.  The  husband,  who  was  trying  to 
perform  his  duty  as  a  Christian,  was  holding  family 
worship,  but  his  wife  was  rolling  on  the  floor,  cursing 
and  scoffing  at  him.  It  was  a  very  trying  season  of 
life  for  that  man.  In  later  years,  however,  his  wife 
was  converted.  The  husband’s  consistent  devotion  led 
her  to  Christ. 

Ahab’s  wife,  by  her  cruelty  and  recklessness,  brought 
her  husband  and  his  kingdom  into  trouble.  Hainan’s 
wife,  in  her  ambitious  and  heartless  desires,  advised 
her  husband  to  take  a  course  which  resulted  in  his 
death  upon  the  gallows.  For  a  woman  to  speak  as  one 
of  the  foolish  women,  is  to  throw  about  her  husband  a 
net  which  is  apt  to  entrap  his  soul. 

It  is  true,  Job’s  wife  was  greatly  tempted.  The 
suffering  of  a  loved  one  who  looks  on,  is  almost  as 
great  as  that  of  the  one  who  suffers.  When  we  blame 
the  wife  of  Job,  let  us  remember  that  we  would  per¬ 
haps  do  no  better  under  the  circumstances.  But  what 
good  would  it  have  done  if  Job  had  taken  her  advice? 
If  he  had  cursed  God  it  would  not  have  relieved  him 
of  his  misery.  If  he  had  died  as  she  suggested,  he 
would  have  been  thrust  at  once  into  greater  torment 
in  hell,  he  would  have  gone  down  with  the  curses 


68  LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN 


of  God  upon  his  lips.  Turning  against  God,  if  he 
had  lived,  would  not  have  relieved  him  of  pain. 
Job’s  wife  did  not  see  that  he  might  have  lived  on  in 
greater  misery  than  ever.  Without  God  he  would  be 
in  far  greater  misery.  He  would  suffer  in  soul  as 
well  as  in  body,  because  he  would  have  no  spiritual 
support. 

A  man  may  count  that  he  has  the  greatest  possible 
blessing  in  the  home,  greater  than  riches,  greater  than 
fame;  if  he  has  in  his  home  a  wife  who  shares  with 
him  his  troubles,  and  strengthens  him  in  the  midst  of 
his  temptations:  who  when  he  is  weak  enables  him  to 
be  strong;  when  he  is  downcast  gives  him  encourage¬ 
ment  ;  when  he  is  ill  bravely  nurses  him  back  to  health 
again.  She  can  be  his  greatest  scourge,  or  she  can  be 
his  greatest  blessing  upon  earth.  The  price  of  a  true 
wife  is  indeed  “  above  rubies,  and  happy  is  the  man 
who  retaineth  her.” 

IT  IS  A  SPLENDID  THING,  IN  THE  MIDST  OF 
affliction,  to  see  as  GOD  SEES 

Job  replied  to  the  taunt  of  his  wife,  “  What  shall  we 
receive  good  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord  and  shall  we  not 
receive  evil  ?  ”  Or,  as  it  may  be  translated,  “  Shall 
we  receive  gladness  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord  and  shall 
we  not  receive  affliction  ?  ”  It  is  far  easier  to  criticise 
in  time  of  health  than  it  is  to  exercise  such  piety  and 
patience.  But  failure  to  speak  and  act  calmly  and  pa¬ 
tiently  in  the  midst  of  affliction  is  sinful.  As  we  stand 
at  a  distance  and  look  upon  some  one  who  is  under¬ 
going  chastisement  at  the  hand  of  God  we  can  see  how 
it  should  work  out  for  their  good,  and  perhaps  we  can 
see  something  that  is  kind  and  loving  in  the  working 
of  God’s  providence  in  connection  with  it.  But  it  is 


LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN  69 


not  so  easy  when  we  are  the  subjects  of  sickness  and 
pain.  Then  we  are  apt  to  assert  that  we  can  see  no 
reason  for  it. 

We  should  not  become  fatalists  and  simply  say: 
“  Well,  it  was  all  meant  to  be  or  it  would  not  have 
happened.  This  was  what  was  intended  and  it  is  of 
no  use  to  think  that  it  might  have  been  otherwise.” 
Let  us  rather  endeavour  to  see  God’s  purpose  in  it  for 
us  and  remember  that  we  are  in  the  hands  of  a  gracious 
and  wise  God,  and  if  He  is  trying  our  virtue  we  ought 
to  show  to  the  world  that  we  are  virtuous,  and  that  we 
realize  that  our  “  life  is  more  than  meat  and  our  body 
than  raiment.”  “  No  chastening  for  the  present  seem- 
eth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous ;  nevertheless  afterward 
it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto 
them  which  are  exercised  thereby.”  In  the  midst  of 
affliction,  of  sorrow,  and  of  temptation  may  we  be 
exercised  as  was  Job  in  such  a  way  that  it  shall  yield 
the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness.  May  we  realize 
that  God  in  afflicting  us,  in  trying  our  virtue,  is  dealing 
with  us  not  as  outcasts  but  as  sons.  If  we  can  look  thus 
upon  our  trials  we  shall  make  every  temptation  and  af¬ 
fliction  a  stepping  stone  to  higher  and  better  things,  we 
shall  become  purified  in  body  and  soul,  and  better  fitted 
for  the  life  which,  begun  here,  shall  last  forever. 

friends  are  valued  in  trouble 

A  man  with  a  character  like  that  of  Job;  a  man  who 
is  fair  and  honest  in  his  business  relationships ;  who  is 
modest  and  patient  and  kind,  is  sure  to  make  friends. 
When  he  is  in  trouble  he  will  not  be  deserted  and  left 
to  suffer  alone.  Job  had  won  friends,  no  doubt  many 
of  them;  men  who  were  noted  for  their  wisdom  and 


70  LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN 


piety.  Job  had  not  selected  as  his  associates  men  who 
cared  only  for  sports  and  frivolities.  If  he  had  done 
so  they  would  never  have  looked  near  him  when  he 
lost  his  property  and  became  ill.  It  is  true  that  they 
advised  him  wrongly,  yet  they  did  the  best  that  they 
knew. 

Let  us  not  scoff  at  the  friends  of  Job  until  we  have 
gone  to  visit  the  sick  when  they  are  in  trouble,  until  we 
have  sat  by  their  side  and  endeavoured  to  comfort 
them,  until  we  have  waited  patiently  upon  them  and 
tried  to  point  out  to  them  what  we  think  to  be  right. 
Job’s  friends,  remember,  wept  with  him,  they  mani¬ 
fested  great  grief  by  rending  their  mantles  and  throw¬ 
ing  dust  upon  their  heads.  They  sat  down  with  him 
for  seven  days  and  seven  nights  there  in  the  ash-heap. 
Until  we  have  made  some  such  effort  to  comfort  our 
friends,  let  us  not  begin  in  careless  derision  to  sneer  at 
them.  If  only  their  words  of  comfort  had  been  sea¬ 
soned  with  divine  wisdom  and  grace  they  would  have 
been  friends  who  might  be  taken  as  an  ideal  example 
by  the  whole  world.  Sometimes  we  hear  men  say,  “  I 
never  knew  that  I  had  so  many  friends  until  I  found 
myself  in  trouble.”  Again  we  hear  some  one  say:  “  I 
thought  that  certain  ones  were  my  friends,  but  I  find 
that  I  am  deserted,  they  were  only  friendly  while  every¬ 
thing  was  going  well,  while  I  had  health  and  money, 
but  now  they  are  all  gone.” 

We  ought  to  be  careful  in  selecting  our  friends. 
The  person  is  usually  popular  who  has  the  freest 
tongue  and  the  heartiest  laugh,  regardless  of  his  devo¬ 
tion  or  his  sincerity.  Perhaps  some  one  who  is  not  so 
brilliant  an  entertainer  may  be  a  far  more  worthy 
friend  and  be  found  more  faithful  in  trouble.  Yet  men 
go  on  thinking  of  friends  in  such  a  shallow  manner. 


LEFT  TO  SATAN  BUT  NOT  FORSAKEN  71 


that  the  one  who  affords  the  most  enjoyment  for  the 
moment  is  the  one  whom  they  seek. 

Job’s  friends  were  not  the  comfort  to  him  that  they 
ought  to  have  been ;  not  that  they  did  not  mean  well  ; 
not  that  they  were  not  attached  to  him:  but  they  did 
not  have  a  right  view  of  suffering  or  a  clear  view  of 
God’s  manner  of  dealing  with  men.  It  is  important  to 
us  if  we  are  trying  to  select  friends  who  shall  be  most 
valuable  under  all  circumstances,  that  we  seek  out  men 
and  women  who  have  a  true  and  correct  view  of  God 
and  of  His  plan  for  the  world.  We  should  not  form 
friends  without  thinking  of  their  religion,  of  the  real¬ 
ity  of  their  religion:  whether  or  not  it  is  manifestly  a 
part  of  their  life.  Nearly  all  men  come  to  realize  the 
value  of  such  suggestions  when  they  have  grown 
older:  but  we  should  learn  to  act  upon  them  while  we 
are  young.  Remember  your  Creator,  in  this,  as  in  all 
other  things. 

It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  left  in  the  hands  of  Satan 
that  he  may  buffet  us.  The  sifting  of  the  chaff,  the 
trying  of  virtue  is  a  severe  trial,  but  it  is  never  hopeless 
when  God  is  with  us.  We  may  be  alone  so  far  as 
human  help  is  apparent,  as  was  Job  when  he  was  first 
robbed  of  his  family  and  scoffed  at  by  his  wife,  and 
yet  we  are  not  alone,  for  God  is  our  never-failing  sup¬ 
port.  He  will  never  leave  us,  He  will  never  forsake 
us.  He  says  as  Peter  said  to  his  Master,  “  though  all 
men  forsake  you  yet  will  not  I,”  and  He  does  not  fail 
in  keeping  His  word,  as  did  Peter,  at  the  critical  hour. 
“  He  is  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother.” 
We  may  trust  Him  and  not  be  afraid. 


V 

THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 
Job  2 : 2 


OUR  subject  is  stated  in  Scripture  language.1 
The  expression,  “  the  depths  of  Satan,”  was 
evidently  a  proverb  when  it  was  used  by  John. 
How  ancient  that  proverb  is,  we  cannot  say,  but  it 
possibly  extends  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  the  patri¬ 
arch,  Job.  At  any  rate  Satan  revealed  the  depths  of 
his  cunning  in  that  early  day. 

When  this  proverb,  “the  depths  of  Satan,”  was 
quoted  by  John,  Satan  was  doing  his  utmost  to  over¬ 
throw  the  early  Christian  Church  as  it  had  been  estab¬ 
lished  in  western  Asia.  When  we  meet  with  Satan  in 
the  first  of  the  Book  of  Job,  he  was  doing  his  utmost 
to  overthrow  the  faith  of  the  few  scattered  patriarchs 
who  were  upholding  the  worship  of  the  true  God. 

In  the  first  of  this  book  a  remarkable  thing  is  done 
in  that  the  doors  of  the  spirit  world  are  partly  opened 
and  we  are  enabled  to  get  a  glimpse  behind  the  scenes. 
There  is  portrayed  a  meeting  of  the  sons  of  God  when 
Satan  came  to  get  permission  to  throw  some  of  his 
brands  into  the  calm  of  a  godly  home.  But  after  the 
second  chapter  we  never  hear  of  Satan  again  in  the 
book.  He  was  working  on,  he  was  still  attempting  to 
seduce  Job:  but  the  door  which  guards  the  holy  place 
was  not  opened  again,  and  we  only  see  the  traces  of 
Satan  in  his  working. 


i  Rev.  2 :  24. 


72 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


73 


We  all  have  to  meet  the  same  enemy  of  souls  which 
Job  met.  In  order  that  we  may  resist  him  it  is  well 
for  us  to  know  something  of  his  personality,  his  pow¬ 
ers,  his  tactics,  and  his  limitations.  Above  all,  we  want 
to  know  how  to  overcome  him  when  he  attacks  us. 

HIS  PERSONALITY 

In  a  home  in  which  a  young  minister  was  being  en¬ 
tertained,  the  question  arose — -Is  there  a  personal 
Devil,  or  is  the  Devil  only  an  influence?  The  question 
was  asked  by  a  young  man  in  the  home  who  had  just 
returned  from  college.  As  the  family  was  seated  at  the 
table  and  the  father,  who  was  an  elder,  was  seated  at 
the  head,  the  young  minister  did  not  attempt  to  answer 
at  first,  thinking  that  the  father  would  reply  promptly 
and  show  the  young  man  how  ignorant  he  was.  But 
the  father,  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat  in  doubt,  re¬ 
ferred  the  question  to  the  minister.  He  took  the  sub¬ 
ject  up  in  as  kindly  a  manner  as  possible,  trying  to 
show  the  family,  both  from  Scripture  and  reason,  that 
the  Devil  is  a  personal,  active  being,  and  that  we  need 
to  be  constantly  on  our  guard  in  order  that  we  may 
resist  him.  When  there  is  ignorance  on  such  vital  mat¬ 
ters  both  among  college  students  and  elders,  shall  we 
be  surprised  when  we  note  the  instability  and  the  drift 
in  many  homes  ? 

There  are  many  proofs  of  the  personality  of  Satan. 

i.  The  Biblical  Proof.  The  record  before  us  is  a 
proof  of  the  personal  existence  of  Satan.  He  was  a 
being  as  truly,  as  distinct,  as  any  of  the  sons  of  God. 
He  could  plan,  he  could  move  from  place  to  place 
through  the  earth,  and  he  could  direct  some  of  the 
forces  in  the  earth. 

His  temptation  of  Christ  is  an  evidence  of  his  per- 


74 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


sonality.  When  Satan  tempted  our  Lord  it  was  a 
struggle  between  two  beings.  Satan  had  a  personality 
as  truly  as  did  Christ. 

The  entrance  of  demons  into  men,  and  the  record  of 
their  being  cast  out,  their  outcry  and  fear,  are  proofs 
of  the  personal  existence  of  evil  spirits.  It  was  not 
merely  an  influence  which  was  cast  out  of  the  one 
possessed,  it  was  a  spiritual  being.  It  was  a  being  who 
had  power  to  tear  as  it  came  out.  It  was  a  being  which 
when  cast  out  was  not  destroyed  or  annihilated,  it  could 
enter  into  men  or  beasts  again.  Demons  could  control 
the  actions  of  swine.  Sometimes  there  was  more  than 
one  demon  in  one  man. 

The  history  of  Satan  proves  that  he  is  a  being.  He 
was  cast  out  of  heaven.  There  was  not  merely  an  in¬ 
fluence  cast  out  of  the  realms  of  glory,  but  a  spiritual 
being,  who  afterwards  had  his  existence  beyond  the 
realms  of  heaven. 

The  Devil  is  commonly  referred  to  as  a  personal 
being.  He  has  a  personality  as  truly  as  Adam  or 
Christ,  or  any  other  person  whom  he  tempted.  He  is 
referred  to  under  different  titles,  such  as  Satan,  the 
Devil,  that  old  serpent,  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air,  the  ruler  of  the  darkness,  and  Beelzebub :  but,  in 
any  case,  a  personality  is  manifestly  intended  in  his 
titles. 

The  Biblical  proof  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  Chris¬ 
tian,  and  it  is  the  decisive  proof  of  the  personality  of 
Satan.  There  are  other  methods  of  arriving  at  the 
same  conclusion,  however. 

2.  The  Philosophical  Proof .  It  is  a  recognized 
fact  that  there  is  no  power  apart  from  personality. 
There  may  be  manifestations  of  power  without  the 
personality  being  seen  or  known.  That  is  a  very  com- 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


75 


mon  condition.  But  there  cannot  be  power  without  an 
intelligence  originating  it  and  directing  it.  There  is, 
without  question,  an  evil  power  in  the  world.  This 
proves  the  personality  of  an  evil  being  at  work  behind 
the  scenes. 

This  is  one  of  the  hidden  things  that  is  revealed  to 
us  in  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Books.  The  veil  is  drawn 
back  and  we  get  a  view  of  Satan  such  as  we  perhaps 
do  not  in  any  other  writing. 

j.  The  Experimental  Proof.  There  is  no  man  on 
earth,  but  who,  if  he  will  look  into  his  own  experience, 
will  find  that  there  is  a  real  power  at  work  dragging 
him,  or  attempting  to  drag  him,  down.  If  one  has 
been  yielding  to  temptation  without  attempting  to  re¬ 
sist,  let  him  but  try  to  resist,  and  he  will  find  that  he 
has  a  fight  on  hands  with  a  real  foe.  It  is  not  merely 
an  evil  influence,  it  is  Satan  waging  a  conflict  within  us. 

his  powers 

Satan  does  not  have  unlimited  power,  as  we  some¬ 
times  think,  but  he  has  a  large  range  of  power.  He 
influences  men  in  all  nations  of  the  world,  and  he 
works  in  the  governments  of  the  nations,  leading  them 
into  his  snares.  In  one  place  2  he  is  called  the  prince  of 
the  power  of  the  air.  He  may  sometimes  direct  wind 
and  storm  as  he  did  in  the  days  of  Job  when  he 
destroyed  Job’s  family. 

Satan  has  even  been  permitted  to  perform  miracles. 
When  Moses  was  commanded  to  show  Pharaoh  the 
power  of  God  by  performing  miracles  in  his  presence, 
the  magicians  of  Egypt  did  so  for  a  few  times  with 
their  enchantments.  They  were  servants  of  Satan. 

The  Devil  has  been  able  to  work  wonders  in  the 


2  Eph.  2 : 2. 


76 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


minds  of  men  in  the  manner  in  which  he  has  deceived 
them  and  led  them  to  deceive.  He  has  been  a  lying 
spirit  in  the  mouth  of  the  prophets  again  and  again. 
In  Elijah’s  day  the  vast  majority  of  the  prophets  were 
false.  Elijah  was  left  alone  among  the  four  hundred 
to  testify  of  the  living  God.  In  Micah’s  day  Satan 
was  a  lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  most  of  the  proph¬ 
ets.  Micah  suffered  because  he  would  not  yield  to 
Satan’s  temptations  and  falsify  also. 

But  while  Satan  has  great  power  let  us  not  think  of 
him  as  supreme  in  any  sphere.  He  is  under  limitations 
wherever  he  may  go.  He  could  send  forth  the  storm 
and  wind,  but  he  could  not  go  beyond  the  permission 
of  God  in  that.  He  could  not  destroy  the  house  in 
which  Job  lived  with  the  east  wind,  though  he  was 
permitted  to  destroy  the  house  in  which  his  children 
were  feasting.  Jesus  in  the  midst  of  the  storm  could 
rebuke  Satan,  for  his  temptation  of  His  disciples,  and 
effort  to  destroy  them,  and  could  say  to  the  sea,  be 
still.  It  was  as  obedient  to  Christ  as  any  child  could  be 
to  its  mother.  Satan  could  bring  on  sickness,  but  he 
could  not  cause  death  when  God  set  bounds  beyond 
which  he  could  not  pass.  Though  he  might  touch  the 
flesh  and  even  the  bone  of  Job,  yet  he  could  not 
destroy  his  life. 

The  magicians  of  Egypt  could  only  go  a  certain 
length  with  their  enchantments,  and  that  not  far,  in 
comparison  with  the  servant  of  God  in  the  miracles 
which  were  performed.  Those  miracles  which  the 
magicians  were  permitted  to  perform  only  showed  the 
limitations  of  Satan’s  power,  that  he  was  under  God’s 
control.  Satan  has  used  false  prophets,  but  he  cannot 
use  them  to  defeat  God’s  plans,  or  to  go  beyond  God’s 
permission.  Balaam  was  restrained.  He  would  have 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


77 


preferred  to  curse  Israel,  but  he  was  only  permitted  to 
bless.  It  is  a  remarkable  example  of  the  defeat  of  the 
plans  of  the  Evil  One. 

HIS  MANNER  OR  WORKING 

Satan  does  not  like  the  light.  He  works  under 
cover.  He  was  disguised  when  he  tempted  our  first 
parents  in  Eden.  He  worked  through  the  best  agency 
he  could  at  that  time.  There  were  no  other  human 
beings  besides  the  two,  so  he  used  what  was  then  the 
most  inviting  and  pretentious  of  the  beasts,  the  serpent. 
The  serpent  has  been  cursed  since,  and  moves  in  a 
different  form,  and  is  hated  of  all  men.  But  it  was  the 
most  attractive  at  that  time. 

Satan  will  work  through  any  agency,  he  is  not  above 
using  the  most  vile  or  perverting  the  most  holy.  Satan 
is  a  great  personal  worker.  He  gets  hold  of  one  man 
and  uses  him  to  draw  another  and  another.  He  tries 
to  get  men  to  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful.  His  first 
attempt  in  Eden  was  to  get  the  control  of  a  human 
being,  then  he  thought  he  could  get  the  ear  of  another. 
He  was  successful.  So  he  thought  he  could  tempt  Job. 
He  thought  if  he  could  win  Job’s  wife  he  could  easily 
entrap  him.  Then  he  tried  to  use  Job’s  friends  to  lead 
him  astray.  First  Satan  tried  an  open  assault.  He 
thought  Job’s  power  of  resistance  was  so  depleted 
that  an  assault  would  work.  But  when  he  found  that 
would  not  work,  he  used  the  more  subtle  means  of 
working  through  his  nearest  companion,  and  then 
through  his  most  intimate  friends,  but  he  was  not 
successful,  at  least  not  as  he  had  hoped  to  be.  Satan 
did  cause  Job  to  sin  to  a  certain  degree,  but  not  as  he 
had  planned.  He  could  not  drive  him  or  coax  him  to 
curse  God. 


78 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


HIS  METHODS 

There  are  several  ways  in  which  Satan  commonly 
works.  To  name  all  of  his  cunning  schemes  would  be 
to  recite  the  whole  history  of  sin. 

1.  He  attempts  to  persuade  men  to  doubt  God's 
love.  That  was  the  temptation  that  he  brought  to  Job. 
He  tried  to  persuade  him  that  God  did  not  love  him, 
else  He  would  not  have  permitted  all  those  calamities 
to  come  upon  him.  He  tried  to  persuade  Eve  and 
Adam  that  God  could  not  love  them  greatly,  else  He 
would  not  have  withheld  from  them  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  But  it  was  be¬ 
cause  He  did  love  them  that  He  had  forbidden  them 
to  eat  of  it.  Any  temptation  which  suggests  to  you 
that  you  doubt  God’s  love,  you  may  be  sure,  is  from 
Satan. 

2.  He  tries  to  implant  a  selfish  motive  in  our  hearts. 
If  there  is  some  act  which  you  seem  impelled  to  do  and 
it  is  for  your  own  honour,  or  some  end  to  be  gained 
for  the  promotion  of  self,  you  need  to  beware  lest 
Satan  is  back  of  it,  whatever  the  guise  may  be  which 
he  uses.  King  Uzziah  appeared  to  have  a  high  purpose 
when  he  went  into  the  temple  to  offer  incense.  But  he 
was  taking  the  honour  to  himself  which  belonged  to 
the  priest.  He  was  selfish  at  heart.  For  his  pride  and 
disobedience  God  smote  him  with  leprosy. 

5.  He  tries  to  flatter  us.  Satan  is  a  great  flatterer. 
If  some  one  is  throwing  bouquets  at  you  from  every 
side  and  making  you  think  that  you  have  some  peculiar 
power  which  others  have  not,  if  there  is  some  work 
which  no  one  else  could  carry  on :  look  well  about  you 
and  see  if  Satan  is  not  the  flatterer,  if  he  has  not  some 
ends  in  view  which  will  dishonour  God.  He  may  be 


79 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 

*  r 

doing  it  under  the  semblance  of  promoting  the  Lord’s 
work. 

4.  He  tempts  us  to  fear.  He  leads  us  to  fear  to 
undertake  work  for  God.  He  tells  you  that  the  work 
can  be  done,  but  you  are  not  the  one  who  is  able  for  it. 
He  tells  you  that  you  will  lose  your  reputation,  and 
that  you  are  in  danger  of  losing  friends  or  position,  if 
you  take  part  in  some  reform  which  is  in  need  of  sup¬ 
port,  or  in  some  work  which  is  before  you. 

5.  He  tries  to  make  us  feel  depressed.  Job  felt  de¬ 
pressed.  But  he  did  not  turn  from  God.  Satan  makes 
us  feel  depressed.  He  makes  us  feel  as  if  all  the  world 
had  forsaken  us,  and  it  is  of  no  use  to  try  to  carry  on 
the  work  that  we  have  undertaken.  He  used  this 
temptation  with  Elijah.  The  Spirit  of  God  does  not 
give  us  a  depressed  feeling,  He  gives  us  strength  and 
comfort.  Hence,  if  the  opposite  feeling  comes  over 
you,  beware  of  the  Evil  One. 

6.  He  tries  to  make  us  lose  patience.  One  of  the 
most  important  traits  of  character  which  is  exemplified 
in  Job,  is  patience.  Satan  tried  to  make  Job  lose  his 
patience.  Our  patience  is  tried  not  only  by  affliction, 
but  in  other  ways.  We  may  be  tempted  to  plunge 
into  things  without  due  deliberation.  We  do  not  see 
the  work  advancing  as  we  think  it  ought  to  do  and  we 
may  press  on  carelessly  with  feverish  haste.  The 
tempter  has  a  rather  easy  time  with  us  if  we  lose  our 
patience. 

But  enough  of  the  nature  of  Satan,  his  power,  and 
his  manner  of  working.  What  we  are  anxious  to  do  as 
Christians  is  to  overcome  him. 

HOW  TO  OVERCOME 

Christ  overcame  Satan.  He  gained  a  decisive  vie- 


80 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


tory  at  Calvary.  The  question  may  come  to  us,  why 
did  not  Christ  put  Satan  out  of  the  way  forever,  so 
that  he  would  never  be  able  to  tempt  any  one  again? 
The  full  answer  to  that  question  may  be  beyond  our 
powers  of  comprehension  at  the  present  time,  and  yet 
I  think  we  can  see  a  sufficient  reason. 

It  is  better  for  us  that,  like  Job,  our  virtue  is  tried. 
It  is  better  for  us  that  we  are  chastened.  It  detracts 
from  our  present  happiness  oftentimes,  it  is  true;  but 
happiness  is  not  the  great  aim  of  life,  and  we  ought  not 
to  permit  it  to  direct  our  plans  and  life  aims.  If  we 
are  led  by  the  rebuke  of  God,  like  Job,  to  abhor  our¬ 
selves  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes,  it  is  far  better  for 
us.  We  come  out  more  virtuous  and  pure  in  the  end. 

In  order  to  overcome  we  need  to: 

I.  Recognize  temptation.  In  order  to  recognize 
temptation  we  must  make  a  careful  study  of  the  Word 
of  God.  We  must  have  a  clear  knowledge  of  God. 
Many  of  us  would  not  have  recognized  the  temptation 
which  came  to  Job.  It  takes  keen  observance,  and 
hearing,  and  thinking,  in  order  to  discover  it.  The 
temptation  which  Satan  offered  Job  through  his  three 
friends  was  very  subtle.  One  less  grounded  in  the 
faith,  and  less  sincere  in  his  belief,  would  have  been 
led  to  believe  that  their  advice  was  good:  he  would 
have  accepted  it,  and  thus  have  become  ensnared. 

Many  of  us  would  have  been  trapped  by  the  tempta¬ 
tion  which  Satan  brought  to  Christ.  Hunger  is  a 
natural  and  proper  thing  from  which  to  seek  relief,  and 
we  would  have  yielded  to  Satan’s  suggestion  to  try  to 
create  bread.  We  would  have  wanted  relief.  We 
would  have  wanted  to  show  Satan  right  away.  God 
intends  that  His  people  shall  be  fed.  Christ  fed  the 
people  Himself  by  a  miracle  when  there  was  nothing 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


81 


for  them  in  the  desert.  Why  not  make  bread  of 
stones?  Christ  said,  “  No!  ” 

Many  of  us  think  that  we  can  put  our  trust  in  the 
promises  of  Scripture,  and  whatever  may  be  the  con¬ 
ditions  we  so  argue.  But  when  Satan  quoted  a  prom¬ 
ise  of  Scripture  to  Christ  He  would  not  accept  it  under 
the  circumstances,  and  He  did  not  act  upon  it.  We 
cannot  discern  these  things  of  ourselves.  We  need  the 
enlightenment  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  open  our  eyes,  to 
enable  us  to  see  when  Satan  is  the  apparent  angel  of 
light,  and  to  guide  us  into  all  truth. 

2.  We  need  to  watch  and  pray.  That  was  the  com¬ 
mand  of  Christ  to  His  disciples  in  the  hour  of  tempta¬ 
tion.  The  one  would  not  do  without  the  other.  Faith 
would  not  do  without  works.  Therefore  the  command, 
watch  and  pray.  Sometimes  men  pray  and  then  act 
presumptuously  because  they  do  not  watch. 

It  is  very  easy  to  criticize  the  disciples  of  Christ,  and 
then  when  we  are  confronted  with  temptation  to  feel 
that  our  condition  is  perfectly  safe,  that  the  angels  are 
watching  over  us  and  we  do  not  need  to  be  on  the  alert. 
But  when  God  tells  us  to  watch  He  expects  us  to  be 
obedient.  Otherwise  our  prayers  will  not  be  heard. 

j.  We  need  to  lay  hold  of  divine  revelation.  In  the 
days  of  Job  the  Word  of  God  was,  as  far  as  we  can 
discern,  not  yet  printed.  Job  could  not  quote  the  writ¬ 
ten  Word.  But  Job  was  not  left  without  knowledge. 
He  could  quote  from  the  pages  of  memory,  which  he 
did  to  the  dismay  of  Satan.  When  the  evil  one  was 
pressing  him  the  hardest  he  cried  out,  “  I  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth.”  He  could  not  persuade  Job  to 
renounce  God  as  he  thought  he  would  do.  Job  had 
been  taught  this  great  truth  of  God,  and  he  clung  to  it 
in  the  hour  of  temptation. 


82 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


We  are  all  familiar  with  the  manner  in  which  our 
Lord  used  the  Word  of  God  in  His  own  defence  when 
He  was  tempted  of  men  or  devils.  It  is  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit  which  we  ought  to  lay  hold  of  and  use.  We 
ought  to  be  skilled  in  its  use  so  that  in  the  day  of  battle 
with  Satan,  we  will  not  swing  an  untried  blade.  It  is 
a  Damascus  blade  and  we  need  not  fear  if  we  know 
how  to  use  it 

4.  We  can  overcome  through  the  blood.  The  stain 
of  the  blood  of  the  lamb  slain,  the  incense  of  the  sacri¬ 
fice,  had  not  yet  disappeared  when  Satan  first  made  his 
attack  upon  Job.  God  had  heard  Job’s  prayer.  He 
had  seen  the  blood  poured  out  for  sin.  He  smelled  the 
sweet  incense  of  the  sacrifice  and  he  had  forgiven  his 
sins.  The  sacrifice  pointed  Job  to  the  Lamb  which 
was  to  be  slain,  it  taught  him  of  the  blood  which  was 
to  be  shed  for  sinners.  In  the  Name,  and  through 
the  blood  of  the  Redeemer,  Job  sought  pardon,  and 
he  had  no  reason  to  fear  death.  Though  worms 
should  destroy  his  body,  yet  he  knew  that  he  should 
see  God.  There  is  none  other  Name  under  heaven, 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved,  but  by 
the  name  of  Jesus. 

A  missionary  in  South  Africa  was  traveling  in 
Bechuanaland,  camping  by  the  banks  of  a  badly  swol¬ 
len  river.  The  discomforts  because  of  rain  and  insects 
was  great.  But  she  was  more  discomforted  by  the  vile 
practices  as  liquor  was  being  sold  to  the  natives.  She 
went  away  to  pray,  then  she  came  back  and  walked 
over  toward  the  canteen.  She  saw  a  man  who  had  the 
look  of  a  bloated  sot  and  she  asked  him  why  he  was  , 
drinking  when  it  was  ruining  him.  He  replied  with  a 
wild  laugh,  “  Why  I  can’t  help  it,  I  am  enslaved  by  this 
white  man’s  drink.  I  would  gladly  quit,  but  I  can’t.” 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


83 


She  told  him  there  was  a  way  out  of  such  slavery.  She 
told  him  of  Jesus  and  of  the  power  of  His  Name. 
They  knelt  there  by  the  river  and  parted.  She  learned 
afterward,  from  the  poor  man’s  wife,  that  he  had 
gone  away,  and  when  the  thirst  for  drink  came  upon 
him  he  repeated  the  name  of  Jesus  over  and  over  and 
the  craving  for  drink  left  him,  and  he  felt  as  if  he 
had  never  tasted  it.  He  said  his  mouth  felt  as  clean 
as  a  little  child’s,  and  his  body  had  become  strong 
and  well. 

An  Arab  woman  in  Algiers  who  had  been  won  to 
Christ  was  persecuted  by  her  family.  They  coaxed, 
argued  with  her,  and  threatened  her.  They  tried  in 
every  way  to  shake  her  faith,  but  could  not.  Then  they 
did  what  was  very  common  for  them,  they  prepared  a 
poison,  and  they  put  it  in  her  food.  After  the  meal  she 
knew  at  once  what  had  happened,  she  felt  the  effects 
of  the  poison  beginning  to  tell  upon  her.  She  knew  its 
deadly  effects.  It  would  make  the  person  feel  very 
irritable  and  mean,  then  it  would  make  the  mind  dull, 
and  finally  cause  death.  As  she  sat  at  the  table  she 
began  to  repeat  the  name  of  Jesus,  the  great  Name 
which  is  above  every  name.  She  could  not  repeat  it 
aloud  because  that  would  mean  persecution,  but  she 
kept  Jesus  on  her  mind,  pleading  with  Him  for  two  or 
three  days.  Then  the  family  saw  something  that  they 
had  never  seen  before,  they  saw  the  effect  of  the  poison¬ 
ing  begin  to  fail.  She  said,  afterward,  “  Each  time  I 
said  that  Name  it  was  like  a  wave  of  life  coming  in 
between  a  wave  of  death.”  Then  in  a  few  days  she 
was  free  from  the  deadly  poison,  to  the  astonishment 
of  the  heathen,  and  to  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  who 
giveth  the  victory  through  His  blood. 

It  is  well  to  know  Satan’s  methods.  It  is  also  well 


84 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  SATAN 


to  know  that  he  can  be  conquered.  Knowing  that  we 
can  conquer  through  faith,  let  us  lay  hold  upon  the  alb 
powerful,  the  ever-saving  Name  of  Jesus  Christ,  our 
gracious  Redeemer:  Job’s  Redeemer  and  ours. 

“  Let  no  threat’ning  ill  appall  thee. 

Trust  in  God  whate’er  befall  thee, 

Serve  Him  with  thy  latest  breath; 

Be  thou  faithful  unto  death ! 

“  Men  may  praise  thee,  men  may  jeer  thee, 

Ever  keep  in  sight  to  cheer  thee 
What  the  heavenly  Master  saith. 

Be  thou  faithful  unto  death ! 

“  Let  no  loss  or  sufFring  rue  thee, 

God  at  last  will  triumph  through  thee, 

Crown  thee  with  the  victor's  wreath; 

Be  thou  faithful  unto  death !  ” 


VI 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 
Job  3 :  1-26 


SOMETIMES  a  minister  of  God  brings  a  message 
to  a  man  which  he  would  rather  not  hear.  He 
may  wish  he  had  not  met  the  minister.  He  may 
dislike  the  warning  or  advice  which  is  given  to  him. 
He  may  even  manifest  signs  of  unwillingness  to  hear 
the  truth,  and  yet  the  minister  goes  on  delivering  his 
message,  endeavouring  to  make  use  of  the  opportunity 
of  the  hour,  lest  he  should  not  have  another  interview 
with  the  man. 

Likewise  a  man,  to  whom  God  is  bringing  a  message 
through  the  providences  which  He  sends,  may  not  like 
it;  he  may  writhe  under  it;  yet  God  may  continue  to 
lay  His  hand  heavily  upon  him.  If  the  affliction  is 
very  severe,  even  though  he  may  be  a  good  man,  he  is 
apt  to  become  impatient  and  irritable  with  his  nurse 
and  with  his  friends. 

When  Job’s  property  was  destroyed  and  his  children 
swept  away,  he  retained  his  composure.  He  was  in 
great  sorrow,  but  he  bowed  humbly  before  God  and 
said,  “  The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away, 
blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.”  And  we  are  told, 
that,  “  in  all  this  did  not  Job  sin  with  his  lips.”  That 
was  far  better  than  the  average  man  would  have  done. 
Many  would  have  begun  to  doubt  God  when  their 
property  was  destroyed.  Then  when  all  their  children 

85 


86 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


had  been  taken,  they  would  possibly  have  renounced 
God,  and  have  given  up  in  despair. 

Not  long  since  I  was  talking  with  a  woman  whose 
husband  had  survived  the  war,  but  died  of  the  in¬ 
fluenza  before  he  reached  home.  She  was  very  bitter 
against  God  and  against  the  Church.  She  said  she 
could  not  see  anything  just  in  that.  She  could  not  see 
any  possible  reason  why  she  and  her  two  children  were 
thus  bereaved.  She  said  the  children  prayed  for  their 
father,  but  he  was  not  brought  back  to  them.  She 
could  not  see  that,  if  her  husband  had  been  a  believer, 
he  might  be  better  off  than  if  his  life  had  been  spared. 
Until  faith  is  implanted  in  the  hearts  of  men  and 
women  they  cannot  see  any  good  in  God’s  providences 
when  they  seem  adverse  to  them.  They  do  not  realize 
what  the  Prodigal  gained. 

Job  did  not  sin  with  his  lips  until  he  was  afflicted  in 
person,  in  addition  to  all  the  rest  of  his  loss  and  misery. 
But  Job,  in  cursing  his  day,  was  finding  fault  with  the 
God  of  providence.  He  wished  that  he  might  never 
have  been  born :  then  that  he  might  have  died  as  an 
infant:  then  that  he  might  go  at  once  to  the  grave. 
Even  if  Job’s  birth  had  not  been  honourable,  it  would 
not  have  been  right  for  him  to  wish  that  he  had  never 
been  born.  No  matter  what  may  be  our  troubles  and 
temptations  we  still  have  reason  to  thank  God  for  life, 
and  of  the  promises  of  redemption,  and  of  an  eternity 
to  be  with  Him.  “  Count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into 
divers  temptations.” 

This  is  the  same  man,  who,  a  little  before,  when  he 
-was  suffering,  had  said,  “  shall  we  receive  joy  at  the* 
hand  of  God  and  shall  we  not  receive  affliction?  ”  But 
the  suffering  had  become  so  great  that  it  had  almost 
driven  him  mad.  He  was  saying  things  for  which, 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


87 


perhaps,  he  was  not  wholly  accountable.  In  his  suffer¬ 
ing  he  could  not  control  his  thoughts  or  his  words  at 
all  times. 

However,  Job  was  never  driven  to  the  extent  which 
Satan  tried  to  drive  him,  that  he  would  curse  God. 
That  person  is  seldom  met  with,  who,  when  old  age  and 
infirmity  and  suffering  have  racked  his  frame,  and  he 
feels  that  he  has  passed  the  useful  stage  of  life  and 
cannot  help  his  friends,  but  must  always  be  waited 
upon,  still  seems  satisfied  with  life.  Rather  do  such 
people  usually  long  and  sigh  for  death  to  come  to  re¬ 
lieve  them  of  their  suffering  and  helplessness.  You 
have  often  heard  some  one  who  is  advanced  in  years 
and  is  in  the  midst  of  suffering,  say,  “  I  don’t  see  why 
I  am  left  here  to  suffer.  Would  that  God  would  come 
and  take  me  away.”  He  had  lived  what  seems  to  us  a 
godly  life,  and  as  far  as  the  common  standard  of  judg¬ 
ment  goes  we  would  be  ready  to  say  of  such  an  aged 
saint,  he  has  lived  a  perfect  life.  And  yet  such  Chris¬ 
tians  are  not  perfect,  there  is  a  refining  through  which 
they  must  pass.  They  are  not  ready  to  meet  the  judge 
of  all  the  earth,  and  God  is  merciful  in  leaving  them 
here  to  be  purged.  They  need  greater  patience,  they 
need  deeper  humility,  they  need  complete  forgiveness. 

Unless  one  has  sinned  away  the  day  of  grace,  when 
God  permits  affliction  He  is  sending  it  in  His  mercy,  it 
is  a  call  to  that  man  to  remember  God  and  draw  near 
to  Him.  Affliction  has  its  message  to  the  unbeliever,  to 
the  backslider,  and  to  the  pious  believer. 

What  ministry  has  suffering, 

TQ  THE  UNBELIEVER? 

f 

It  is  a  call  to  turn  to  God.  If  Job  had  been  an  un¬ 
believer  he  would  no  doubt  have  despaired  of  life,  and 


88 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


would  likely  have  committed  suicide.  It  was  to  despair 
that  Satan  thought  he  might  lead  him.  And  it  is 
natural  that  the  unbeliever  should  wish  to  end  a  life  of 
misery  as  soon  as  possible.  From  the  standpoint  of 
the  unbeliever,  suicide  is  a  logical  end  for  his  misery. 
If  there  is  no  God,  no  future  life,  no  judgment;  then 
why  may  not  the  old  idea  of  the  heathen  when  in 
suffering  or  disgrace,  prevail?  Why  not  end  the  life? 
Matthew  Arnold,  in  his  Empedocles  on  Etna ,  a  poem 
which  seems  to  be  modeled  somewhat  after  Job,  makes 
Empedocles  cry  out  against  life,  and  then  when  the 
universe  does  not  answer  he  leaps  into  the  fiery  crater 
of  Etna.  Such  a  course  is  not  right,  but  it  is  as  logical 
as  is  unbelief. 

The  Spirit  of  God  only,  can  change  the  heart,  and 
that  without  our  aid.  But  the  Spirit  of  God  does  not 
work  against  the  will  of  man,  and  he  uses  various  in¬ 
strumentalities  to  make  a  man  willing  in  the  day  of 
God’s  power  to  cry  out  to  God  to  save.  The  sinner  is 
often  brought  to  the  point  when  he  is  about  to  despair 
of  life  before  he  is  willing  to  turn  to  God,  and  to  cry 
out  from  the  depths.  He  must  first  see  that  there  is 
hope  in  no  other  power,  that  there  is  relief  from  no 
other  source  than  God.  Then  he  will  cry  out  to  Him 
to  save. 

Manasseh  had  spent  his  long  life  in  sin,  and  in  lead¬ 
ing  men  into  sin.  But  when  God  gave  Judah  into  cap¬ 
tivity,  and  when  Manasseh  was  put  in  irons  and  was 
in  terrible  distress,  then  he  cried  out  to  God  and  re¬ 
pented  of  his  sin.  Great  as  his  sin  was,  God  heard  his 
cry  and  forgave  him.  Manasseh  had  only  the  last 
portion  of  a  long  life  to  serve  God  after  that.  He  was 
a  firebrand  plucked  out  of  the  burning.  But  yet  he 
served  God  as  well  as  he  could  during  the  remainder  of 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


89 


his  days.  God  graciously  forgave  him,  though  he 
could  not  undo  all  the  wickedness  that  he  had  done. 
As  far  as  human  eye  can  see,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
ministry  of  suffering  to  Manasseh  as  an  unbeliever,  he 
would  have  died  in  the  midst  of  sin  and  idolatry. 

Augustine  was,  for  a  long  time,  a  careless  sinner. 
He  went  deeply  into  sin.  His  mother’s  pious  appeals 
and  prayers  were  unheeded  by  him.  But  when  he  came 
to  loath  sin  and  could  see  no  way  out,  he  turned  to  God, 
and  God  in  His  mercy  forgave.  Thus  Augustine  was 
transformed  from  a  vile  and  debauched  sinner  to  one 
of  the  great  fathers  and  theologians  of  the  Church, 
whose  writings  are  still  a  powerful  influence  in  mold¬ 
ing  the  thought  of  the  world.  Calvin  affirmed,  that 
what  he  knew  of  theology  he  had  learned  from 
Augustine. 

One  of  the  lessons  which  we  may  learn  from  the 
parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  is,  that  poverty,  and  lone¬ 
someness,  and  suffering,  may  be  used  of  God  to  bring 
men  to  Christ.  The  Prodigal  was  not  merely  a  boy 
who,  though  a  Christian,  needed  some  reforming.  The 
Prodigal  represents  a  boy  who  was  bad  at  heart :  who 
neglected  religion  and  the  thoughts  of  God  until  he  got 
down  in  the  depths  of  poverty  and  distress.  He  was 
an  unbeliever  whose  greatest  blessing  was  his  poverty, 
it  was  used  of  God  to  lead  him  to  find  the  true  riches. 
His  suffering  led  him  to  seek  God  and  everlasting  life. 
It  taught  him  that  there  was  no  hope  in  any  other 
source.  So  in  his  despair  he  turned  to  God  and  found 
the  greatest  gift  possible. 

One  of  the  modern  prodigals  of  whom  I  was  reading 
last  week,  in  a  book  by  Philip  I.  Roberts,1  is  named 
John  Tyler.  He  took  to  drinking  at  an  early  age.  He 


1  The  Dry-Dock  of  a  Thousand  Wrecks. 


90 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


was  a  drunkard  and  a  vagabond  for  forty-two  years. 
As  he  said  himself,  the  whole  world  was  his  stamping 
ground.  He  had  spent  much  of  his  time  in  the  slums 
of  New  York,  but  had  also  been  in  the  slums  of  Lon¬ 
don,  Paris,  Calcutta,  and  Hong  Kong.  He  had  tried  to 
rid  himself  of  the  slavery  of  drink  out  among  the  bush- 
men  of  Australia.  But  the  thirst  came  over  him  and  he 
tramped  the  four  hundred  miles  which  he  had  put  be¬ 
tween  himself  and  the  source  of  drink.  He  was  in 
New  York  when  he  came  to  the  worst  stage  of  desper¬ 
ation.  He  was  on  Mulberry  Bend  on  the  East  River, 
where  the  bums  congregated,  and  as  a  beggar  came  by, 
a  man  sitting  by  Tyler  said,  “See  that  feller?  Pve 
known  him  for  twenty  years.  For  all  the  use  he  is  to 
himself  or  anybody  else,  in  this  world,  he’d  be  a  thous¬ 
and  times  better  dead.  Why  he  doesn’t  go  and  make 
a  hole  in  the  East  River  gets  me.”  John  Tyler  said  to 
himself,  “  That  hits  me,  that  is  my  description  exactly.” 
“  He’d  be  a  thousand  times  better  dead,”  seemed  to  be 
exactly  his  condition.  He  thought  he  could  not  be 
more  miserable  than  he  was,  he  did  not  want  to  die  in 
the  park  some  cold  night,  or  in  the  poorhouse.  He 
thought  the  suggestion  of  the  man  who  had  sat  beside 
him  was  the  best.  To  make  a  hole  in  the  East  River, 
where  many  another  of  his  kind  had  gone,  would  be 
the  best,  he  would  do  it  as  soon  as  darkness  should 
brood  over  the  city  again. 

But  a  man  who  had  been  sitting  near  him  had  got  up 
and  had  gone  away,  leaving  an  evening  paper  beside 
him.  It  told  of  an  anniversary  celebration  at  the  Jerry, 
McAuley  mission.  He  had  been  at  this  mission  once 
years  before  as  he  had  gone  to  escort  a  party  of  ladies 
there.  He  thought  it  was  of  no  use  for  him  to  go,  or 
to  think  of  reformation.  But  he  thought  of  his  moth- 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


91 


er’s  faith  in  such  things,  and  of  her  assurance  that  God 
could  save  the  vilest  of  sinners.  He  resolved  to  go. 
He  couldn’t  pray,  but  he  flung  his  arms  heavenward 
and  cried  out  to  God  to  help  him.  At  the  Mission  he 
found  Christ,  who  gave  him  the  power  to  get  the 
victory  over  his  old  habits.  The  days  immediately 
following  his  conversion  were  difficult.  But  God 
helped  him  to  face  the  temptations.  God  used  his  con¬ 
dition  of  despair,  his  physical  weakness,  and  his  pov¬ 
erty  to  cause  him  to  cry  out  to  Him.  Forty-two  years 
was  a  long,  dreary  period;  but  it  was  the  ministry  of 
suffering  to  bring  him  to  Christ. 

It  is  the  unbeliever,  who  in  the  midst  of  suffering 
and  melancholy  is  driven  to  contemplate,  or  to  attempt, 
suicide.  The  believer  has  a  better  outlook  on  life  and 
the  end  of  existence,  -ven  though  in  the  midst  of  ex¬ 
cruciating  misery.  The  testimony  of  the  martyrs  in 
all  the  centuries  gone  by  furnishes  abundant  proof,  that 
God  is  sufficient  for  the  most  extreme  needs,  and  that 
belief  in  God  will  prevent  despair. 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING  TO  THE  BACKSLIDING 

believer 

It  reforms  him.  David  said,  “  Before  I  was  af¬ 
flicted  I  went  astray ;  but  now  have  I  kept  thy 
word.”  David  allowed  his  passions  to  get  the  better 
of  him.  He  knew  that  he  was  doing  wrong,  when 
he  virtually  murdered  Uriah  in  order  to  get  his  wife. 
God  manifested  His  displeasure  with  David.  David 
felt  the  hand  of  God  lying  heavily  upon  him.  God 
came  into  the  palace  and  took  the  child.  David 
mourned  for  his  sin  in  dust  and  ashes.  He  fasted, 
refusing  to  eat.  He  entreated  God  on  behalf  of  the 
child  and  for  his  own  sins.  God’s  hand  lay  upon 


92 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


him  in  chastisement,  to  bring  him  to  repentance  and 
reformation. 

Hezekiah  was  a  godly  man.  He  was  a  man  through 
whom  God  wrought  marvelous  things  in  answer  to 
prayer.  And  yet  pride  got  the  better  of  Hezekiah  for 
the  time.  “  God  left  him  to  try  him  that  he  might 
know  all  that  was  in  his  heart.”  Hezekiah  was  very 
rich.  He  had  a  wonderful  assortment  of  ornaments 
and  relics  in  his  palace,  and  when  he  had  some  visitors 
from  a  distance  he  gloried  in  being  able  to  show  them 
all  these  things,  and  in  displaying  the  abundance  of 
his  wealth.  God  had  forbidden  it,  and  he  chastised 
Hezekiah  for  it.  When  Hezekiah  was  sick  and 
thought  that  the  end  of  his  life  was  near,  he  repented 
with  bitter  tears,  he  turned  his  face  to  the  wall  and 
cried  out  to  God,  that  he  might  forgive  him,  and  give 
him  a  new  lease  on  life.  The  affliction  brought  about 
repentance  and  reformation. 

The  life  of  Jonah  furnishes  another  illustration  of 
how  God  uses  suffering  to  bring  about  reformation  of 
life.  As  a  prophet  Jonah  hesitated  to  do  hard  things. 
He  was  called  of  God  to  go  as  a  foreign  missionary 
He  was  to  go  alone.  He  was  to  go  to  a  nation  which 
was  a  sworn  enemy  of  Israel.  He  was  to  go  to  a  na¬ 
tion  in  which  there  were  perhaps  no  true  believers.  So 
he  thought  that  the  best  plan  was  to  get  out  of  the 
country  and  avoid  duty.  But  getting  out  of  Palestine 
did  not  take  him  any  further  from  God,  nor  did  it 
excuse  him  from  the  performance  of  his  duty.  God 
laid  His  hand  upon  him  and  by  means  of  the  storm' 
and  great  fish,  saving  Jonah  in  a  supernatural  manner, 
led  him  to  repent.  Then  he  was  ready  to  offer  himself 
to  go  and  do  as  God  bade  him.  By  danger  and  suffer¬ 
ing  he  was  led  to  reformation  of  life  and  plans.  It 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING  93 

was  the  ministry  of  suffering  to  Jonah  as  a  backsliding 
prophet. 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING  TO  THE  PIOUS  BELIEVER 

It  purifies  and  increases  faith.  This  is  where  the 
problem  is  more  difficult.  At  least  it  seems  so  to  many. 
They  can  easily  see  how  suffering  ought  to  have  its 
effect  upon  a  vagabond  or  moral  outcast.  They  can 
see  how  it  ought  to  bring  about  a  reformation  in  a 
backsliding  Christian.  But  it  is  difficult  for  them  to 
fathom  the  meaning  of  suffering,  or  its  value,  to  the 
man  who  is  regarded  as  a  pious  follower  of  God,  as 
was  Job. 

It  is  intended  to  purify,  to  lead  to  humility  and  trust. 
Job  was  perfect  and  upright  in  the  sight  of  men,  but 
not  so  in  the  sight  of  God.  He  needed  to  be  tried  in 
order  that  he  too  might  repent,  and  that  he  might  be 
made  better.  The  ministry  of  suffering  may  be  very 
hard  to  discover  at  the  time.  It  was  hard  for  Job  to 
see,  and  too  deep  for  his  friends  to  see.  They  thought 
they  knew  the  meaning  of  Job’s  suffering;  but  they 
mistook  the  meaning  of  it,  and  in  their  misinterpreta¬ 
tion  in  place  of  relieving  him,  added  to  his  misery. 

Jeremiah  was  a  godly  man ;  but  he  was  called  to  pass 
through  a  great  deal  of  physical  and  mental  suffering. 
God  revealed  His  plan  in  the  end.  It  served  both  to 
purifv  and  to  vindicate  the  great  prophet,  as  it  did 
with  Job. 

One  of  the  blessings  which,  James  assures  us,  comes 
from  the  temptations  which  we  endure  and  the  trials 
into  which  we  fall,  is,  patience.  It  is  developed  within 
us.  “  The  trying  of  your  faith  worketh  patience.” 
Peter  says  that  one  of  the  reasons  why  we  are  par¬ 
takers  of  Christ’s  sufferings  is,  that  the  Spirit  of  God 


94 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


may  rest  upon  us  and  that  He  may  be  glorified.  That 
which  is  hard  for  us  may  be  for  the  glory  of  God. 
Paul  admitted  that  suffering  was  good  for  him,  as  he 
said,  “  When  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong.” 

McCheyne  testifies  of  the  blessings  which  came  to 
him  through  his  sickness  and  suffering.  He  was 
caused  to  give  up  his  congregation  because  of  failing 
health.  He  was  called  to  go  to  Palestine  both  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  condition  of  his  health,  which  it  was  sup¬ 
posed  might  be  improved  by  traveling,  and  because  of 
the  desire  to  establish  a  mission  among  the  Jews.  He 
traveled  in  weakness.  He  suffered  delays  and  mishaps. 
But  though  sometimes  his  patience  and  strength  were 
severely  tried,  yet  he  could  see  all  along  how  God  was 
leading  him.  He  testified  to  the  manner  in  which  he 
was  given  strength  to  endure,  and  how  even  in  the 
midst  of  unusual  effort  he  gained  in  health  and 
strength.  In  his  weakness  he  was  made  strong,  strong 
in  body  and  also  in  faith. 

Recently  I  was  reading  “  Muller’s  Life  of  Trust.” 
It  is  an  account  of  the  life  of  George  Muller.  Most 
of  it  is  simply  a  record  as  left  by  Mr.  Muller  in  his 
daily  diary.  When  he  was  a  young  man  in  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  he  offered  himself  as  a 
foreign  missionary.  He  was  anxious  to  be  sent  out  as 
soon  as  possible.  He  met  with  one  disappointment 
after  another.  He  went  to  England  to  take  some 
special  work  for  about  eight  months  preparatory  to 
going.  He  was  delayed  a  month  in  making  the  trip 
to  England,  then  he  became  ill.  He  was  unable  to 
pursue  his  studies  in  the  usual  manner.  He  had  to 
seek  health  in  relaxation  and  in  a  change  of  place. 
While  he  was  in  London,  as  he  began  to  recover,  he 
thought,  “  why  not  begin  mission  work  right  here  in 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


95 


place  of  waiting  until  I  get  to  Palestine  ?  ”  He  began 
to  preach.  God  led  him  on  until  he  became  pastor  of 
a  congregation  at  Teignmouth.  As  the  salary  of  a 
minister  in  that  congregation  was  derived  from  the 
rental  of  pews  he  declined  to  accept  a  salary  because  he 
feared  that  some  might  be  too  poor  to  come  under 
that  plan. 

Later  he  established  an  orphan’s  home  at  Bristol. 
The  funds  for  its  support  were  received  entirely  in 
answer  to  prayer.  God  laid  His  hand  upon  him  in 
affliction.  He  had  great  pain  in  his  head.  The  funds 
of  the  orphanage  also  ran  low.  But  God  granted  him 
a  blessing  as  a  result.  He  said,  after  several  hours 
upon  his  knees  in  prayer,  that  his  soul  was  brought  into 
such  a  state  as  regarded  his  health  that  he  could  say 
from  his  heart  that  he  would  not  have  this  disease  re¬ 
moved  until  God  by  its  means  had  bestowed  the  bless¬ 
ing  for  which  it  was  sent.  Later,  he  says,  he  was 
enabled  to  thank  God  publicly  for  his  late  affliction. 
God  tried  his  faith  again  and  again  by  lack  of  funds, 
at  least  there  often  seemed  to  be  a  lack  up  until  the 
time  that  payments  must  be  made,  but  God  always  sup¬ 
plied  it.  He  came  to  the  place  where  he  did  not  look 
for  a  supply  more  than  one  day  ahead.  God  tested  his 
faith  in  it,  but  he  always  found  God  ready  to  supply 
the  need  when  it  came. 

Poverty  and  affliction  may  bring  very  great  blessings 
to  the  righteous.  The  ministry  of  suffering,  if  with¬ 
held  from  them,  would  deprive  them  of  rich  experi¬ 
ences  and  increase  of  faith,  greater  sympathy,  and  tried 
virtue.  When  the  Lord  tries  His  people  it  is  another 
proof  of  the  promise  that  “  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he 
chasteneth  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiv- 
eth.”  When  we  are  chastened  “  God  dealeth  with  us 


96 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  SUFFERING 


as  with  sons;  for  what  son  is  he  whom  the  father 
chasteneth  not?  ” 

Job  was  like  other  men  and  women:  the  suffering  of 
the  flesh  when  it  was  terribly  severe  caused  him  to  say 
things  which  he  would  not  have  said  otherwise.  He 
yielded  to  some  extent  to  the  temptation.  It  ought  to  be 
our  object  to  guard  against  the  failure  of  Job,  and  when 
we  are  in  the  midst  of  suffering,  to  hold  our  lips  that  we 
shall  not  complain.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we  see  godly 
people,  who,  in  the  extremity  of  age,  or  when  in  weak¬ 
ness  and  suffering,  make  complaints  or  wish  that  they 
were  taken  away,  and  are  irritable ;  let  us  remember  that 
though  the  spirit  may  be  willing  the  flesh  may  be  weak, 
and  let  us  rather  pray  for  them  than  ridicule  them  or 
doubt  their  sincerity.  In  the  midst  of  his  suffering  Job 
cried  out,  “  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him !  ”  2 
But  he  did  not  cry  the  cry  of  despair.  He  found  God 
and  hastened  to  assure  himself  and  us,  “  He  knoweth 
the  way  that  I  take :  when  he  hath  tried  me  I  shall  come 
forth  as  gold.”  3  Bet  us  never,  whether  in  health  or  in 
sickness,  lose  sight  of  God !  But  if  we  do,  may  it  be  our 
first  and  greatest  concern  to  find  Him,  and  to  lay  hold 
of  Him  in  faith!  Let  us  assure  ourselves  that  He 
knoweth  the  way  that  we  take,  that  He  is  trying  us,  not 
to  destroy  us;  but  to  purify  us.  Let  us  rest  assured 
that  He  will  not  permit  height,  or  depth,  or  any  other 
creature,  to  separate  us  from  Him. 

Then,  children ;  friends,  both  younger  and  older ;  let 
us  not  put  off  the  hour  of  seeking  God.  Let  us  remem¬ 
ber  Him  in  the  days  of  our  youth.  Let  us  seek  Him 
while  He  may  be  found.  Let  us  make  Him  our  never- 
failing  portion,  so  that  we  can  say,  “  To  live  is  Christ, 
to  die  is  gain.” 


2  23:3.  3  23:10. 


VII 

ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 
Job  4,  5,  15,  22 


WE  were  introduced  to  the  three  friends  of  Job 
in  the  closing  part  of  the  second  chapter. 
Their  visit  to  Job  could  not  have  taken  place 
until  some  time  after  he  was  stricken.  They  evidently 
lived  at  some  distance,  because  they  were  from  three 
different  nations  or  tribes.  It  would  in  all  probability 
take  a  considerable  time,  perhaps  weeks  or  even 
months,  before  word  could  reach  them,  and  they  could 
arrange  to  come  to  see  their  distracted  friend.  It 
would  be  a  long,  hot  journey  over  the  desert  sands  with 
their  caravans.  There  would  be  many  difficulties  to 
consider  and  prepare  for,  in  the  journey,  which  do  not 
trouble  or  delay  us.  Within  an  hour  or  two  after  a 
loved  one  has  been  stricken  we  receive  a  telegram, 
flashed  across  hundreds  of  miles  of  space,  and  perhaps 
over  night  we  are  borne  in  the  fast  train  so  that  we 
reach  the  bedside  of  the  loved  one  the  next  day. 

They  would  have  many  a  long  talk  by  the  way  con¬ 
cerning  their  old  friend  on  whom  so  many  calamities 
had  fallen.  They  would  wonder  how  it  had  been  that 
so  good  a  man  as  Job  was  called  upon  to  suffer  so 
severely.  They  had  admired  him,  and  had  thought  that 
he  was  an  exceptionally  good  man.  They  could  not 
imagine  that  Job  had  been  neglectful  of  divine  worship 
or  that  he  had  been  an  open  transgressor  of  the  law. 
The  members  of  his  family  always  seemed  to  walk  in 

97 


98 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


an  exemplary  manner,  and  he  had  been  known  to  be  a 
good  and  kind  father.  Yet  they  thought  that  God 
never  sent  severe  affliction  upon  a  man,  much  less  such 
terrible  calamities  as  had  befallen  Job,  unless  the  suf¬ 
ferer  had  been  a  great  sinner.  They  were  anxious  to 
find  out  wherein  he  had  sinned.  They  thought  per¬ 
haps  that  when  they  reached  the  bedside  of  Job  that  he 
would  confess  his  sins  to  them,  and  then  they  would 
know  what  had  been  hidden  from  them  of  the  evil  life 
of  their  friend,  which  had  been  the  cause  of  all  his 
grief. 

They  were  God-fearing  men;  but  not  nearly  so  well 
instructed  in  things  divine  as  was  Job.  Their  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  plan  of  salvation  and  of  God’s  ways  of 
dealing  with  men  was  still  quite  limited. 

Eliphaz,  who  was  the  elder  of  the  three,  spoke 
largely  from  experience.  A  part  of  the  experience 
which  he  had,  consisted  of  a  vision  by  which  he  was 
taught,  as  he  thought,  some  remarkable  things.  Be¬ 
cause  of  this  we  call  him  the  mystic. 

Bildad  does  not  speak  so  much  of  things  that  had 
come  under  his  own  observation  as  that  which  he  had 
learned  from  the  fathers.  He  built  upon  tradition. 
He  was  more  severe  in  his  dealing  with  Job  than  was 
Eliphaz,  although  Eliphaz  spoke  quite  harshly  in  his 
last  argument  with  Job,  uttering  many  rash  statements. 

Zophar  was  very  blunt  and  dogmatic  in  his  style. 
What  he  wished  to  say,  he  spoke  with  decision,  as 
though  there  could  be  no  appeal  from  it.  Therefore 
we  style  him,  the  dogmatist. 

We  can  easily  imagine  a  modern  sufferer  who  might 
be  called  upon  by  different  classes  of  men  who  have  a 
far  more  erroneous  view  of  the  methods  of  God’s  deal¬ 
ing  with  men,  of  the  government  of  the  world,  and  of 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


99 


the  cure  of  disease,  than  did  the  friends  of  Job.  We 
talk  about  the  primitive  day,  and  the  meager  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  people  of  the  early  age  in  which  the  patri¬ 
archs  lived.  But  their  knowledge  was  not  nearly  so 
childish  as  that  of  many  today  who  endeavour  to 
console  the  afflicted. 

If  Job  had  lived  in  the  present  time  it  is  very  likely 
that  some  one  of  his  comforters  would  have  endeav¬ 
oured  to  console  him  by  saying:  “  You  have  been  told 
that  your  sons  and  daughters  are  dead,  and  if  their 
representation  could  be  considered  correct  you  might 
well  weep.  But  your  sons  are  not  dead,  nor  are  you 
forbidden  their  fellowship  because  you  do  not  see  them 
now.  You  can  consult  with  their  spirits  at  any  time 
and  can  learn  from  them  their  whereabouts  today,  you 
can  learn  what  they  are  doing  and  thinking,  and  all 
about  the  last  feast  which  they  had  in  their  elder 
brother’s  house.  Do  not  mourn  as  though  you  had  lost 
your  children,  just  place  a  few  bright  coins  in  the  palm 
of  my  hand  and  I  will  bring  back  the  spirits  of  your 
children,  and  they  will  indicate  by  automatic  writing, 
or  by  raps  and  knocks  and  signs,  anything  that  you 
want  to  know  concerning  their  present  condition.” 

Think  of  poor  Job  robbed  of  all  his  property,  having 
not  a  penny  in  the  world,  nor  anything  which  he  could 
exchange  for  money,  or  physical  ability  to  make 
money,  being  told  that  for  a  certain  fee,  paid  in  ad¬ 
vance,  he  might  have  a  seance  with  his  departed 
loved  ones ! 

Or  if  he  had  lived  at  the  present  time  and  become 
widely  known  as  a  sufferer,  there  would  be  sure  to  be 
one  who  would  stand  beside  him,  and  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  poor  man  was  suffering  intolerable 
physical  and  mental  anguish,  notwithstanding  the  fact 


100 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


that  he  lay  on  a  pile  of  burned  offal,  and  the  worms 
were  crawling  over  his  body  and  working  their  way 
into  the  sores  as  he  endeavoured  to  scrape  them  off 
with  a  piece  of  potsherd;  would  say  to  him:  “Job,  all 
that  you  need  to  do  is  to  get  in  the  right  frame  of 
mind,  there  is  no  pain,  there  is  no  matter,  there  has 
been  no  sin,  just  think  that  you  are  free  from  pain, 
just  think  that  you  are  clean,  just  bring  your  mind  to 
the  high  plane  of  thinking  until  you  are  convinced  that 
there  are  no  boils,  that  your  sons  and  daughters  did 
not  really  exist  at  all,  and  that  all  that  has  passed  from 
your  view  is  the  report  of  imaginary  personages,  and 
you  will  be  relieved  at  once  of  this  fit  of  melancholy. 
If  you  get  a  right  view  of  Science  and  Health  your 
depressed  view  and  thought  of  pain  will  depart  to 
return  no  more,  you  will  have  made  the  great  discovery 
of  the  modern  age,  you  will  have  no  worry,  no  misery, 
no  suffering,  no  sorrow.” 

If  Job’s  case  had  been  merely  one  of  bad  nerves, 
such  talk  might  have  given  him  relief.  But  the  deep- 
seated,  continuous,  racking  pain  to  which  Job  was 
subject,  places  any  man  beyond  the  reach  and  entice¬ 
ment  of  any  one  who  would  attempt  to  inflict  upon  him 
such  a  false  view  of  science.  No  present  or  absent 
mental  treatment  is  tolerable  when  in  such  misery.  If 
Job  was  stirred  to  utter  hard  things  in  answer  to  his 
three  friends,  he  would  surely  have  been  stirred  to  a 
greater  limit  of  patience  if  such  comforters  had  been 
admitted  to  his  presence. 

However,  Eliphaz  and  the  other  friends  said  enough. 

There  is  much  in  the  argument  of  Eliphaz  concern¬ 
ing  which  one  can  take  but  little  exception.  It  seems 
that  Eliphaz  was  a  God-fearing  man  and  intended  to 
honour  God,  at  least  in  the  main  part  of  his  argument. 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


101 


He  attempted  to  point  out  the  justice  of  God.  In  the 
latter  part  of  his  argument  one  is  led  to  think  that 
Eliphaz  either  lost  his  temper,  a  condition  which  is  not 
unknown  among  good  men,  or  he  had  such  a  strong 
desire  to  carry  his  argument  that  he  overstated  what 
he  knew  to  be  true.  It  takes  careful  thinking  to  detect 
just  the  points  in  which  these  men  were  right  and, 
those  in  which  they  were  wrong.  That  they  were 
wrong,  at  least  in  many  things,  we  are  assured  by  the 
condemnation  of  God  when  He  passes  judgment  upon 
their  reasonings.  God  reproves  Job  for  some  things 
which  he  said,  but  He  does  not  reprove  him  nearly  so 
severely  as  He  does  the  would-be  comforters. 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that  Eliphaz  main¬ 
tained  that  he  spoke  in  a  large  measure, 

PROM  EXPERIENCE 

We  often  hear  it  said  that  experience  is  the  best 
teacher.  It  is  a  good  teacher  providing  we  are  guided 
in  our  experience  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Otherwise 
experience  may  be  a  bad  teacher,  that  is,  it  may  lead  to 
wrong  conclusions. 

Eliphaz  was  seemingly  an  old  man,  at  least  he  was 
the  oldest  of  the  three  friends.  He  prized  the  experi¬ 
ence  which  he  had  had,  and  what  he  had  learned  from 
it.  Eliphaz  declared  that  his  experience  taught  him, 
that  one  was  always  a  guilty  sinner,  when  grievous 
afflictions  came  upon  him.  Therefore  he  felt  that  Job 
was  guilty,  very  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God:  that  he 
ought  to  repent  and  God  would  heal  him.  Eliphaz  was 
perhaps  speaking  largely  the  truth  so  far  as  his  ex¬ 
perience  had  gone.  He  had  seen  men  of  the  world,  and 
they  were  mostly  of  that  class  where  he  lived,  who 
had  fallen  into  some  habit  of  sin,  and  their  evil 


102 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


lives  had  brought  upon  them  some  disease  from 
which  they  suffered.  They  were  reaping  what  they 
had  sown.  They  had  sown  the  wind  and  were  reap¬ 
ing  the  whirlwind. 

Some  time  ago  when  talking  with  an  old  physician, 
a  skeptic,  he  confidently  affirmed  the  same  of  Job.  He 
said :  “  There  is  no  doubt  in  the  world  but  that  Job  was 
suffering  from  a  bad  case  of  syphilis.”  As  though 
there  is  sufficient  evidence  for  a  physician  to  diagnose 
a  case  in  this  way,  with  such  confidence,  having  only 
the  brief  record  which  we  have  in  the  Bible,  and  thus 
prove  Job  to  be  a  reprobate.  If  a  physician  could  diag¬ 
nose  this  case  so  accurately,  why  does  a  physician  need 
to  see  a  patient  today  in  order  to  make  a  careful  diag¬ 
nosis?  Why  does  he  not  merely  ask  a  few  questions 
about  the  case  and  then  come  to  a  correct  and  final 
conclusion  without  seeing  the  disease  or  keeping  the 
case  under  observation?  His  conclusion  would  prove 
that  all  physicians  are  dishonourable  and  fraudulent. 
If  it  is  not  necessary  for  them  to  see  a  case  of  sickness 
before  prescribing,  then  they  are  all  deceiving  the 
public  and  extorting  money  from  them  for  unnecessary 
visits.  We  do  not  accept  either  of  the  conclusions,  that 
Job  was  a  reprobate  or  that  all  physicians  are  dishonest. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  the  general  conclusion  of 
students  as  to  Job’s  disease,  that  it  was  a  terrible  form 
of  disease  which  is  found  in  the  East,  which  is  known 
as  elephantiasis.  It  is  a  loathsome  disease,  sores  ap¬ 
pear  upon  the  body,  and  the  sufferer  undergoes  terrible 
pain.  It  is  a  form  of  leprosy,  and  as  a  result  the 
sufferer  is  an  outcast  from  society  and  friends. 

One  needs  more  than  experience  as  his  guide,  even 
though  he  may  have  studied  and  observed  very  widely, 
yes,  even  though  he  may  have  lived  a  long  and  ob- 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


103 


servant  life.  One  needs,  in  addition  to  experience, 
divine  revelation  and  divine  guidance.  He  needs  the 
Spirit  of  God  as  his  guide  to  help  him  interpret  divine 
providences  as  he  has  seen  or  experienced  them. 
David  said  that  he  had  more  understanding  than  all 
of  his  teachers.  But  it  was  not  merely  because  he  had 
more  experience  than  others,  it  was  because  he  made 
God’s  law  the  subject  of  his  meditation  day  and  night, 
it  was  because  he  took  that  law  as  his  guide.  That  was 
the  point  in  which  Job  excelled  his  friends  so  far. 
Divine  revelation  meant  more  to  him  than  it  did  to 
them.  God’s  Word  stands  far  above  the  experience  of 
any  short-lived  man.  We  ought  to  take  God’s  knowl¬ 
edge,  which  is  infinite,  as  far  above  our  own,  which,  at 
best,  is  finite.  A  man  who  sets  himself  up  against  the 
Word  of  God,  relying  only  upon  his  experience,  virtu¬ 
ally  denies  the  truthfulness  of  God.  His  knowledge  in 
comparison  with  that  of  God  is  less  than  that  of  an 
infant  when  compared  to  its  father. 

Eliphaz  also  maintained  that  he  received  infor¬ 
mation, 


prom  a  vision 

If  one  has  experimental  knowledge  which  comes 
direct  from  God  in  a  special  revelation  given  to  him,  to 
guide  him  in  some  point  of  duty  or  doctrine,  he  must 
surely  be  right.  Eliphaz  asserted  that  he  had  some 
such  supernatural  guidance.  The  nature  of  this  vis¬ 
ion  1  is  one  of  the  difficult  problems  of  the  book.  The 
question  is,  was  it  a  divine  revelation,  or  was  it  a 
natural,  and  not  altogether  reliable,  dream?  A  con¬ 
sideration  of  its  source  is  important,  because  there  are 
some  statements  included  in  it  which  are  difficult  to 


1 4: 12-21. 


104 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


harmonize  with  the  true  history  and  character  of  Job, 
and  also  with  the  will  of  God. 

We  are  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  not  a  vision  in  the 
sense  of  being  an  inerrable  revelation  from  God. 

J.  The  word  translated  vision  may  mean  dream. 
The  Herbew  word  (chizzayon)  which  in  the  fourth 
chapter  and  thirteenth  verse,  is  translated  vision,  is 
defined  in  the  lexicon  as,  “  a  night  vision  or  dream.” 
The  word  dream  is  sometimes  used  interchangeably 
with  vision.  For  instance,  in  this  passage  taken  from 
the  book  of  Daniel : 2  “  Thy  dream,  and  the  visions  of 
thy  head  upon  thy  bed,  are  these,”  it  is  evident  that 
both  words  refer  to  the  same  message  which  Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar  had  received. 

2.  He  may  have  thought  he  saw  a  vision  when  it 
was  only  a  dream.  Eliphaz  was  not  accustomed  to 
receiving  visions,  and  he  may  not  have  known  just 
what  a  vision  was.  The  dream  may  have  been  particu¬ 
larly  vivid,  as  it  seems  to  have  been,  and  therefore  he 
thought  that  he  had  been  especially  favoured  by  a 
vision  from  God.  There  are  those  who  undergo  a 
sympathetic  affection  of  thoughts  of  another  at  a  dis¬ 
tance,  which  we  call  mental  telepathy,  and  they  think 
that  they  have  seen  a  vision.  Such  a  statement  as 
Shakespeare,  in  Macbeth,  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Len¬ 
nox,  is  not  considered  a  vision.  It  is  unusual  but  not 
supernatural. 

“  The  night  has  been  unruly :  where  we  lay, 

Our  chimneys  were  blown  down,  and,  as  they  say, 
Lamentings  heard  i’  the  air,  strange  screams  of  death, 
And  prophesying  with  accents  terrible 
Of  dire  combustion  and  confused  events 
New  hatch’d  to  the  woful  time:  some  say,  the  earth 
Was  feverous  and  did  shake.” 


22:28. 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


105 


Satan  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the 
hallucination,  and  the  appearance  of  a  spirit  before 
Eliphaz,  in  order  to  convince  him  that  it  was  a  vision, 
that  the  temptation  might  be  stronger  when  it  was 
presented  to  Job. 

j.  He  may  have  been  intending  to  imply  that  he 
saw  a  vision  without  saying  directly  that  he  did ,  be¬ 
cause  of  the  effect  which  he  wished  to  produce.  Some¬ 
times  men  stretch  the  language  which  they  use,  they 
imply  more  than  they  could  vouch  for.  Eliphaz  did 
that  in  his  argument.  If  he  did  not  intend  to  blacken 
the  name  of  Job,  if  he  had  merely  listened  to  street  talk 
until  he  believed  that  the  charges  which  he  brought 
against  Job  were  true,  at  least  he  did  not  represent 
Job  fairly. 

There  is  a  question  as  to  just  how  far  the  vision 
extends  in  this  record.  If,  as  some  think,  it  ex¬ 
tends  to  the  seventh  verse  of  the  fifth  chapter,  then 
it  is  evident  that  it  was  not  of  God.  If  it  extends 
merely  to  the  close  of  the  fourth  chapter,  there  is 
that  which  seems  to  us  to  fall  under  the  condemnation 
of  God.3 

If  the  translation  of  the  revised  version  is  correct,4 
"  His  angels  he  chargeth  with  folly,”  that  is,  if  it  in¬ 
tends  to  represent  the  angels  as  continually  going 
astray,  it  is  evident  that  he  was  not  speaking  by  divine 
revelation :  unless  one  should  take  his  statement  as  does 
Delitzsch,  who  understands  it  to  mean,  he  chargeth 
them  with  imperfection.  If  the  authorized  version  is 
correct,  the  explanation  is  not  difficult,  “  He  charged 
his  angels  with  folly,”  for  then  it  would  naturally  be 
taken  as  referring  to  the  fallen  angels  who  were 
charged  with  folly. 


3  42 :  7.  4  4 : 18. 


106 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


The  question  of  the  reality  of  this  vision  is  a  prob¬ 
lem  upon  which  we  do  not  desire  to  speak  dogmatically, 
but,  from  its  substance,  from  that  which  follows  in  the 
argument,  and  from  the  condemnation  of  Eliphaz  for 
misrepresenting,5  our  opinion  is  that  it  was  a  dream 
rather  than  a  vision. 

Moreover  Eliphaz  arrived  at  his  conclusion, 

FROM  AN  UNFAIR  JUDGMENT 

Eliphaz  was  unfair  in  his  charges  against  Job.  He 
uttered  charges  against  him  which  were  not  founded 
upon  fact,  mere  conjectures,  to  prove  a  wrong  theory 
with  which  he  had  begun  his  argument. 

Eliphaz  could  say  that  Job  had  not  kept  the  law  per¬ 
fectly.  That  could  be  said  of  any  man,  for  no  one  is 
without  sin  in  the  sight  of  God.  But  to  bring  a  man 
to  the  legal  test  and  say  that  he  is  condemned  because 
he  has  not  kept  the  law  perfectly  is  to  forget  on  the 
other  hand  the  mercy  and  forgiveness  of  God.  Bun- 
yan  pictured  Christian  in  his  conference  with  Mr. 
Worldly  Wise-man,  hesitating  and  turning  aside  to  the 
town  of  morality  and  the  house  of  Mr.  Legality.  He 
said,  the  way  which  Evangelist  pointed  out  was  a  hard 
and  dangerous  road,  and  he  would  find  it  much  easier 
if  he  would  follow  his  advice  and  seek  out  Mr.  Legal¬ 
ity.  But  when  Christian  tried  it  he  found  that  the 
way  was  dangerous  and  threatening,  so  that  he  began 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  trying  it.  Then  he  met 
Evangelist,  who  pointed  out  the  serious  danger  into 
which  he  was  running  and  told  him  there  was  no  way 
but  through  the  wicket  gate  and  by  the  straight  and 
narrow  way. 


M 2:7. 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


107 


Job  did  not  trust  in  the  law.  He  had  not  denied  the 
immediate  providence  of  God  or  His  omniscience,  as 
he  was  charged  by  Eliphaz.6  He  was  not  a  sinner 
above  those  who  were  destroyed  by  the  flood,  as 
Eliphaz  intimated. 7 

Eliphaz,  like  the  other  comforters,  had  indulged  in 
general  charges  up  to  the  time  of  his  last  argument; 
but  as  he  found  that  he  was  not  winning  his  point  he 
began  to  make  them  particular,  though  he  spoke  only 
from  supposition,  and  was  not  able  to  prove  them.  He 
charged  Job  with  being  unkind  and  cruel  to  the  poor :  8 
with  foreclosing  mortgages  unjustly:  with  stripping 
the  naked  of  their  clothing :  with  refusing  to  give  the 
thirsty  drink  or  the  hungry  food:  and  with  robbing 
the  widow  and  the  fatherless.9 

These  charges  were  altogether  untrue,  as  Job  as¬ 
sures  us  in  his  reply.  He  said  he  had  not  dealt  falsely, 
he  had  not  used  an  uneven  balance,  he  had  not  turned 
from  his  wife  to  another  woman,  he  had  not  withheld 
from  the  poor,  he  had  not  eaten  his  morsel  alone,  he 
had  not  caused  men  to  lie  uncovered  and  uncared  for 
in  the  street.  On  the  other  hand  he  had  opened  his 
doors  to  the  traveler,  he  had  fed  the  hungry,  he  had 
helped  the  widow  and  the  fatherless.  He  calls  God 
to  witness  and  send  His  curse  upon  him  if  the 
charges  were  true :  “  Then  let  mine  arm  fall  from  my 
shoulder  blade,  and  mine  arm  be  broken  from  the 
bone.”  10  He  was  not  like  Adam,  trying  to  cover  his 
sin.  He  had  lived  an  upright  life  which  would  stand 
for  itself. 

One  who  makes  charges  in  the  fashion  which  Eli¬ 
phaz  did  against  Job,  just  from  general  inference, 
because  he  thinks  the  man  is  suffering  divine  retribu- 

6  22 : 13-16.  7  22 : 16.  8  22 :  6,  7.  9  22 :  9.  10  29 : 22. 


108 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


tion,  and  who  feels  that  he  can  judge  the  secrets  of  a 
man’s  life  and  heart  from  his  physical  condition,  is  not 
a  good  counselor  or  a  wise  friend  to  follow. 

Eliphaz  was  almost  as  unjust  to  Job  as  the  Sabeans 
or  Chaldeans  had  been.  They  had  robbed  him  of  his 
camels  and  oxen,  but  Eliphaz  was  robbing  him  of  his 
good  name.  He  was  charging  him  with  being  an  un¬ 
scrupulous,  oppressive  capitalist,  a  grasping  character 
without  mercy  upon  the  poor,  a  man  who  loved  gold 
more  than  justice  or  life.  Job  spurned  such  an  idea. 
He  denied  most  vigorously  that  he  had  made  gold  his 
hope  or  fine  gold  his  confidence.11  A  man  who  would 
rob  a  good  man  of  his  honest  reputation  is  taking  from 
him  that  which  is  more  valuable  than  his  wealth.  “  A 
good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches  and 
loving  favour  rather  than  silver  and  gold.”  “  Who 
steals  my  purse  steals  trash — but  he  who  robs  me  of 
my  good  name,  robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches 
him  and  makes  me  poor  indeed.” 

We  ought  to  be  careful  how  we  charge  men  with 
specific,  or  even  general,  crimes  of  injustice,  when  at 
best,  with  us,  it  is  only  a  conjecture.  It  is  a  very  com¬ 
mon  charge  for  men  to  make  these  days  against  capi¬ 
talists.  Regardless  of  their  creed  or  methods  of  deal¬ 
ing  with  men  they  are  classed  with  the  oppressors  and 
heartless.  There  are  many  capitalists  who  have  been 
proven  unfair  and  grasping;  but  because  some  of  them 
are  dishonest  let  us  not  make  a  wholesale  charge  of 
criminality  against  men  merely  on  the  ground  that  they 
have  a  considerable  share  of  this  world’s  goods  as  Job 
had,  or  because  they  are  large  employers  of  labour. 
There  are  yet  among  the  well-to-do,  men  whose  hearts 
are  large  and  whose  souls  have  been  possessed  with  the 


11 31 : 24. 


ELIPHAZ  THE  MYSTIC 


109 


desire  to  help  their  fellowmen,  who  are  kind  to  the 
poor  and  pity  the  oppressed.  Let  us  beware  of  be¬ 
smirching  the  name  of  any  who  may  be  upright  and 
just  by  a  wholesale  and  ignorant  charge  of  criminality. 

In  fact  our  charges  or  insinuations  against  the  char¬ 
acter  of  any  man  are  unfair  and  unwarranted,  whether 
that  man  be  poor  or  rich,  whether  he  is  a  labourer  or 
a  capitalist,  unless  we  know  beyond  doubt  that  he  is 
unjust,  or  unless  we  have  proof  because  of  his  avowed 
associations  that  he  is  responsibe  for  what  unjust 
men  do. 

The  friends  of  Job  dwelt  upon  the  justice  of  God  in 
divine  retribution.  They  were  either  ignorant,  or  for¬ 
got  that  God  not  only  punishes  the  wicked;  but  He 
tries  the  righteous.  Divine  retribution  has  its  place; 
but  so  does  the  mercy  of  God,  so  does  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
Job  was  not  trusting  in  his  own  righteousness;  but  in 
the  blood  that  was  shed.  God  was  not  pouring  out  His 
wrath  in  divine  retribution  against  him. 

Those  on  whom  the  tower  of  Siloam  fell,  we  are 
assured  by  Jesus,  were  not  sinners  above  all  those  who 
dwelt  in  Jerusalem.  They  were,  however,  called  to 
repent,  as  we  also  are.  Whether  we  be  rated  as  good 
and  just  among  men,  or  whether  we  be  condemned  by 
them,  unless  we  repent  we  perish.  We  cannot  enter 
heaven  upon  the  merits  of  our  own  righteousness;  but 
only  through  the  righteousness  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  suffered  and  died  for  us. 

Job  knew  that  experience  is  not  a  sufficient  guide, 
nor  are  works  a  sufficient  merit  in  the  sight  of  God. 
May  we  have  a  like  faith,  and  similar  wisdom. 


VIII 

WEARY  OF  LIFE,  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD 

Job  7:  1-6,  17;  13:15 


THE  natural  tendency  of  man  is  to  avoid  thoughts 
of  death.  But  when  a  storm  sweeps  over  us, 
leaving  destruction  and  death  in  its  wake,  very 
many  people  are  alarmed  and  in  their  fear  they  think 
of  the  possible  proximity  of  the  end.  One  who  is 
familiar  with  them,  turns  to  the  words  of  Job :  “  Is 
there  not  an  appointed  time  to  man  upon  earth  ?— My 
days  are  swifter  than  a  weaver’s  shuttle.” 

When  man  is  brought  face  to  face  with  the  end  of 
life,  whether  it  is  because  of  illness  or  danger  to  him¬ 
self,  or  whether  it  is  because  of  the  decease  of  a  near 
relative,  he  begins  to  long  for  a  message  of  comfort. 
One  of  the  most  comforting  books,  of  those  which 
were  written  for  the  benefit  of  the  sorrowing  during 
the  late  war,  was  written  by  Bishop  Moule.  He  had 
been  bereaved  himself,  he  had  witnessed  the  death  of 
his  mother,  his  daughter,  and  his  wife;  and  he  realized 
how  keenly  one  who  has  been  bereaved  feels  the  loss. 
He  wrote,  therefore,  from  a  heart  that  was  sore  from 
a  sense  of  loneliness  and  grief,  and  could  sympathize 
in  a  personal  way  with  others  whose  hearts  were 
heavy  and  lonely. 

Job’s  comforters  lacked  experimental  sympathy  and 
tact.  They  not  only  failed  to  comfort  him,  but  served 
to  irritate  the  sufferer.  However,  it  is  better  for  the 
world  today  that  it  was  so,  because  it  led  Job  to  ex- 

110 


WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD  111 


press  himself  more  fully  as  he  replied  to  their  argu¬ 
ments,  which  were  generally  comfortless  and  misap¬ 
plied.  The  record  is,  on  that  account,  more  valuable 
to  us. 

Job  was  weary  of  life,  he  desired  the  end,  and  yet 
he  would  not  allow  either  his  suffering  or  his  friends 
to  disturb  his  faith  in  God,  for  he  said :  “  Though  he 
slay  me  yet  will  I  trust  in  him.” 

SUFFERING  CAUSES  MEN  TO  THINK  OF  THE  END 

OF  FIFE 

Job  had  failed  to  think  of  the  end  of  life  before  his 
affliction,  but  he  thought  far  more  seriously  of  it  dur¬ 
ing  his  suffering.  As  we  think  over  the  past,  we  trem¬ 
ble  for  some  who  did  not  pass  through  a  period  of 
suffering,  and  had  little  time  to  prepare  for  the  end. 
The  end  has  often  come  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
Justinian,  Emperor  of  Rome,  is  said  to  have  died  as  a 
result  of  going  into  a  newly-painted  room.  One  of  the 
popes  was  strangled  by  a  fly.  Men  have  been  killed  by 
stumbling  over  their  own  threshold ;  others  have  been 
choked  by  a  seed  in  the  fruit  which  they  were  eating. 
When  we  think  seriously,  we  marvel  at  the  frailty 
of  life. 

James  speaks  of  people  who  are  so  confident  of  life 
that  they  plan  their  course  far  in  advance.  They  say : 
“Today  or  tomorrow  we  will  go  into  such  a  city”; 
they  feel  that  there  is  no  hurry,  much  less  reason  to 
worry ;  they  will  “  continue  there  a  year  and  buy  and 
sell  and  get  gain.”  They  think  they  might  remain 
there  several  years,  according  to  their  own  choice. 
They  do  not  take  into  account  the  possibility  of  sick¬ 
ness,  or  accident,  or  other  providential  hindrances. 
They  have  always  acted  independently,  and  they  feel 


112  WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD 


that  they  will  continue  to  do  so  indefinitely.  They  are 
sure  that  there  is  a  fortune  before  them.  It  has  been 
accumulating  rapidly  and  nothing  can  hinder  its 
growth.  There  was  one  man  who  worked  on  that 
plan,  of  whom  it  is  recorded  that  God  spoke  to  him  on 
his  last  night  on  earth,  and  said :  “  Thou  fool.”  It  is 
probable  that  there  are  many  whose  record  we  do  not 
know,  to  whom  God  has  spoken  in  like  manner. 

The  historian  tells  of  Peter  Waldo,  who  was  sitting 
at  a  banquet  when  a  companion  at  the  table  suddenly 
died.  It  caused  him  to  think  seriously,  and  to  search 
the  Scriptures.  It  is  said  that  later,  he  became  the 
second  founder  of  the  Waldensian  Church,  which  was 
used  of  God  to  keep  the  light  of  the  Gospel  shining 
clearly,  when  all  the  world  around  was  in  darkness. 
Some  have  been  influenced  by  the  stroke  which  has 
fallen  upon  others,  but  the  more  closely  it  comes  to 
themselves,  the  more  serious  is  the  thought  provoked, 
and  the  more  frequently  it  leads  them  to  repentance  in 
view  of  the  end. 

SUFFERING  OFTEN  DEADS  MEN  TO  DONG  FOR  THE 

END  OF  EIFE 

Suffering  caused  Job  to  long  for  the  end.  He 
wished  that  he  had  never  been  born.  In  the  first  verse 
of  our  text,  the  word  “  appointed  ”  is  translated  in  the 
margin,  “  warfare.”  This  is  one  meaning  of  the  word. 
The  thought  seems  to  be,  that  as  a  soldier  enlists  for  a 
certain  period  of  time,  and  afterward  expects  his  dis¬ 
charge  :  so  man  may  look  for  discharge  or  release  from 
life  at  the  end  of  a  certain  time.  He  has  an  appointed 
time  upon  earth.  As  a  servant  looks  for  a  shadow,  or 
a  cool  resting  place  from  the  heat  of  the  tropical  sun, 
so  man  looks  for  rest  and  relief  from  the  burden,  toil, 


WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD  113 


and  trouble  of  life.  As  a  hireling  looks  for  a  reward 
for  his  work  at  the  end  of  the  day,  so  man  looks  for  a 
reward  at  the  close  of  life,  as  he  is  ushered  into  the 
glories  of  heaven.  The  days  and  nights  seemed  long 
to  Job;  they  seem  long  to  any  sufferer.  When  one  is 
suffering  extreme  pain  and  tossing  upon  his  bed,  un¬ 
able  to  sleep,  it  seems  as  though  the  night  will  never 
end.  This  continued  with  Job,  perhaps  for  months  in 
succession.  It  is  when  the  body  becomes  weak  and  the 
nerves  exhausted  after  long  illness,  that  pain  is  more 
terrible  to  bear.  There  are  few  men,  if  any,  under 
such  circumstances  who  do  not  long  for  the  time  to 
come  when  death  shall  bring  relief.  The  wicked  man 
looks  for  relief  from  his  suffering,  not  realizing  that 
he  will  be  thrust  into  a  place  of  greater  torment.  The 
righteous  man  not  only  longs  for  bodily  relief,  but  he 
confidently  expects  to  enjoy  matchless  and  eternal  rest 
and  happiness. 

We  have  seen  those  ripe  with  years,  infirm  and  suf¬ 
fering  with  age,  who  expressed  themselves  over  and 
over,  as  wondering  why  they  were  left  here  .when  they 
were  of  no  use  in  the  world  and  only  a  burden  to  them¬ 
selves  and  their  friends.  It  may  be  impossible  for  us 
to  understand  God’s  way  with  them,  and  yet,  fre¬ 
quently  we  can  see  some  reason  for  it.  They  may  be 
left  for  the  benefit  of  their  godly  advice  to  their 
friends.  They  may  be  left  that  their  sanctification  may 
be  completed.  No  one  in  this  life  is  wholly  perfected. 
The  chastening  which  they  are  enduring,  though  it 
seems  grievous  at  present,  may  be  yielding  the  peace¬ 
able  fruit  of  righteousness  as  they  are  being  exercised 
thereby.  We  may  be  sure,  if  we  are  children  of  God. 
that  the  Lord  is  chastening  us  and  our  friends  in  love, 
and  preparing  us  for  being  received  into  glory. 


114  WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD 


SUFFERING  EEADS  THE  PIOUS  MAN  TO  HUMBEE 
himseef  before  GOD 

Job  exclaimed :  “  What  is  man  that  thou  shouldst 
magnify  him?”  The  history  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
though  old,  is  ever  new  in  its  lesson,  that  when  men 
become  proud  they  are  brought  low.  Job  had  not 
become  proud  like  Nebuchadnezzar,  nevertheless  he 
needed  a  new  lesson  in  humility. 

The  Hebrew  captives  by  the  waters  of  Babel  sung 
of  “  the  streams  of  the  south.”  They  were  summer 
torrents  which  flowed  only  when  the  rain  had  fallen 
upon  the  distant  hills.  Awaiting  the  refreshment  from 
such  rains,  the  farmer  sowed  the  dry  and  parched 
ground.  Perhaps  he  would  look  and  long  day  by  day 
for  the  gathering  of  distant  clouds.  He  would  be  feel¬ 
ing  the  pinch  of  want,  and  be  wondering  what  he 
would  do  if  the  rain  did  not  come.  But  when  the 
clouds  had  gathered  at  last,  and  had  poured  out  their 
contents,  and  the  water  began  to  rush  down  from  the 
hills  reviving  the  grass  and  bringing  greenness  to  the 
trees,  he  would  rejoice  that  he  had  been  remembered 
again  with  rain  from  heaven.  One  of  the  lessons 
which  God  would  have  His  people  learn  in  every  age, 
is  to  toil  and  wait.  We  must  sow  in  tears,  but  if  we 
are  willing  to  wait  upon  God  with  sufficient  patience, 
at  last  we  will  reap  with  joy. 

With  a  natural  tendency  to  be  proud  and  inde¬ 
pendent,  man  does  not  like  to  humble  himself.  He 
does  not  like  to  be  abased  in  the  sight  of  man  or 
God.  But  such  philosophy,  though  it  is  natural 
with  man,  is  wrong.  It  is  contrary  to  the  plan  taught 
in  the  Gospel.  It  is  against  the  deeper  and  truer 
philosophy  of  life.  No  device  of  man  has  ever  found 


WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD  115 


rest  and  peace  for  the  sinful  soul  except  through 
penitence  and  sorrow  for  sin.  The  greatest  joy  of 
the  heart  is  found  in  one  who  has  experienced  the 
deepest  humiliation.  The  strongest  and  stablest  char¬ 
acters  are  founded  upon  repentant,  trustful,  humble 
hearts. 

Tears  are  sometimes  looked  upon  as  an  element  of 
weakness.  But  the  very  opposite  may  be  true.  Even 
our  Lord  wept.  He  wept  over  Jerusalem,  and  His 
tears  were  caused  by  reason  of  the  impenitent  hearts 
of  the  people.  Paul  wept  with  men,  and  over  men, 
who  would  not  repent.  There  were  some  whom  he 
besought  night  and  day  with  tears.  An  earnest  man 
sees  much  in  his  own  heart  and  in  the  world  around 
him  to  make  him  weep.  One  of  the  truest  and  bravest 
of  the  prophets,  who  had  faced  torture  and  death  to  do 
his  duty  and  to  preach  the  truth,  when  he  thought  upon 
the  sinful  state  of  the  people  and  the  dangerous  con¬ 
dition  which  they  were  in,  wept.  He  said :  “  Oh  that 
mine  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  fountains  of 
tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night.”  He  that 
thinketh  he  standeth  is  likely  to  fall.  He  that  is  truly 
penitent  and  humble  before  God,  is  resting  upon  the 
rock  of  eternal  strength. 

SUFFERING  HEADS  The  GODEY  MAN  TO  REASSERT  HIS 

faith  in  god 

Job  said:  “Though  he  slay  me  yet  will  I  trust  in 
him.”  1  From  the  pious  sufferer’s  lips,  although  there 
are  many  groans  of  pain,  yet  there  are  also  notes  of 
triumph.  Reading  the  biography  of  the  persecuted 
Christians  is  not  all  sorrow.  Sitting  by  the  bedside  of 
the  Christian  sufferer  is  not  all  sorrow.  The  dross  is 


1 13 : 15. 


116  WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD 

being  consumed;  the  refining  process  is  going  on,  and 
out  of  the  fire  there  is  emerging  the  gold. 

Job  spoke  many  sad  words,  but  intermingled  with 
them  there  are  some  that  are  triumphant.  When  his 
spirit,  as  though  for  the  moment  released  from  the 
flesh  gave  utterance  to  his  innermost  thoughts,  there 
was  exultation.  Though  Jeremiah  often  wept,  he  like¬ 
wise  knew  that  every  cloud  had  a  silver  lining.  He 
had  occasion  to  weep  for  his  own  sins,  but  usually  he 
wept  for  his  people.  However,  he  saw  beyond  the 
wreck  of  a  sinful  nation,  a  revival  and  a  return  to  the 
land  of  promise  with  prosperity  under  the  blessing 
of  God. 

Our  Lord  was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  grief,  but  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him 
He  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  He 
now  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God.  Paul 
could  reiterate  a  whole  catalogue  of  sorrows.  He  had 
been  driven  from  chy  to  city.  He  had  suffered  ship¬ 
wreck  and  hunger  and  distress :  he  had  narrowly  es¬ 
caped  drowning  in  the  sea.  He  had  been  beaten,  he 
had  been  torn  almost  asunder  by  the  cruel  mob.  He 
had  suffered  more  than  mortal  man  is  usually  expected 
to  endure :  but  still  when  he  saw  the  executioner  at  his 
threshold,  he  triumphed.  He  gave  expression  to  a 
steadfast  faith  which  has  strengthened  many  a  disciple 
in  the  hour  of  trial :  “  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered  and 
the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith:  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge, 
shall  give  me  at  that  day :  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto 
all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing.”  2 


2  2  Tim.  4:6-8. 


WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD  117 


The  Covenanters  of  Scotland  suffered,  they  were 
driven  from  home  and  hunted  in  the  mountains  and 
caves.  They  were  hung  upon  the  gallows,  they  were 
shot  like  beasts  in  the  field.  They  were  caged  like 
rodents  in  filthy  dungeons,  and  were  banished  like 
criminals  to  a  foreign  land :  and  yet  they  triumphed  in 
the  midst  of  it  all.  Richard  Cameron  and  his  loyal 
followers  could  sing  at  Ayrsmoss :  “  God  is  our  refuge 
and  our  strength.”  After  John  Brown,  of  Priesthill, 
had  been  brutally  shot  down  before  his  own  door,  his 
wife  and  her  friends  could  gather  for  the  worship  of 
God,  singing  those  triumphant  words  of  the  twenty- 
seventh  Psalm : 

“  For  He  in  His  pavilion,  shall 
Me  hide  in  evil  days; 

In  secret  of  His  tent  me  hide, 

And  on  a  rock  me  raise. 

“  And  now  even  at  this  present  time, 

Mine  head  shall  lifted  be, 

Above  all  those  that  are  my  foes, 

And  round  encompass  me: 

“  Therefore,  unto  His  tabernacle 
I’ll  sacrifices  bring 
Of  joyfulness;  I’ll  sing,  yea,  I 
To  God  will  praises  sing.” 

The  Armenians  suffered,  they  have  undergone  many 
persecutions,  and  it  has  been  said  frequently,  “  It  is  a 
wonder  that  they  have  not  lost  faith  in  God  entirely.” 
But  those  who  have  had  true  faith  have  not  lost  it,  and 
there  have  been  many  providences  which  have  strength¬ 
ened  the  faith  of  those  who  have  suffered.  Some  of 
you  heard  a  missionary  relate,  that  during  the  war  the 
Turks  took  all  the  Armenian  women  and  children  from 


118  WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD 


their  mission  compound,  and  drove  them  out  to  the 
desert  to  die,  or  to  suffer  unspeakable  torture  by  the 
way.  After  the  Armenian  women  had  been  held  one 
night,  they  were  given  a  chance  to  live  if  they  would 
choose  Mohammedanism,  but  were  told  that  they 
would  be  separated  from  their  children  and  exiled  in 
the  desert  if  they  refused.  The  next  day  after  this 
offer  had  been  made,  a  missionary  who  talked  with  one 
of  the  women  said  that  she  expressed  her  faith  in  this 
way :  “  I  have  passed  through  my  Gethsemane  this 
night,  but  I  have  gained  the  victory.  If  my  Saviour 
gave  his  life  for  me,  why  should  not  I  give  mine  for 
Him  ?  ”  She  was  driven  to  the  desert,  suffered  ter¬ 
ribly  by  the  way,  at  last  took  typhus  fever,  and  her 
enemies,  supposing  she  was  dead,  threw  her  out  on  a 
pile  of  dead  bodies.  Almost  miraculously,  she  recov¬ 
ered,  and  made  her  escape  back  home  and  to  her  child. 
All  of  the  women  who  were  taken  from  that  mission 
were  providentially  cared  for  and  permitted  to  return 
home  again,  and  nearly  all  were  restored  to  their  chil¬ 
dren.  Only  one  of  those  orphan  children,  who  had 
been  cared  for  in  orphanages,  died  during  her  mother’s 
exile.  Does  not  such  a  striking  providence  lead  us  all 
to  renew  our  faith  in  Almighty  God,  who  has  promised 
to  care  for  the  widow  and  the  orphan  ? 

It  might  seem  that  suffering  would  cause  doubt.  If 
it  does,  it  is  because  we  have  a  wrong  philosophy  of 
God,  for  “  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth  and 
scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth.”  Every  true 
follower  of  Christ  must  take  up  his  cross.  He  must  be 
ready  to  endure  suffering  if  he  is  to  fight  the  good 
fight.  One  of  the  seals  of  the  Moravian  church  bears 
a  lesson  on  its  surface  for  every  Christian.  It  is  the 
picture  of  an  ox,  with  a  plow  on  one  side  and  an  altar 


WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD  119 


on  the  other,  indicating  that  it  is  ready,  either  for 
labour  or  sacrifice. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  birds,  because  of  its  grace 
and  elegant  appearance,  has  been  named,  “  The  Bird 
of  Paradise.”  Travelers  tell  us  that  it  never  flies 
before  the  wind  of  its  own  choice.  When  it  is  com¬ 
pelled  to  do  so  by  danger  or  fright,  its  beautiful  train 
of  plumes  is  disordered  and  torn,  and  soon  it  is  baffled 
and  beaten  down  until  its  gorgeous  plumes  are  trailed 
in  the  dust.  But  when  it  mounts  and  faces  the  wind, 
soon  the  dust  is  swept  from  its  plumes,  it  recovers  its 
beautiful  shape  and  graceful  motion,  and  ascends  with 
unwearied  flight  on  high.  There  is  nothing  on  earth 
that  is  so  beautiful  in  the  sight  of  God  as  the  soul  of 
man  that  has  been  cleansed  of  sin  and  made  new  in  the 
image  of  Christ.  He  is  guided  on  the  way  by  angels, 
and  his  robes  are  those  which  Christ  has  given  him. 
But  in  order  to  reach  the  Celestial  City,  he  must  strug¬ 
gle  against  the  storm  and  amidst  the  trials  of  this 
world.  He  must  lay  aside  every  weight  and  run  with 
patience.  If  he  drifts  with  the  wind  and  current  he 
will  mingle  with  the  world  and  his  beauty  will  be  soiled 
in  the  sight  of  God.  He  that  soweth  in  tears  shall  reap 
with  joy.  We  must  wait  with  patience  and  humility  if 
we  would  stand  unashamed  in  the  presence  of  the  King 
of  Glory. 

There  is  an  appointed  time  to  man  upon  earth. 
Since  we  cannot  avoid  the  time  of  the  end  we  might  as 
well  face  it.  The  postponement  of  the  consideration  of 
it  will  not  delay  its  coming. 

THE  THOUGHT  OE  DEATH  WIEL  DO  ONE  OE  TWO 

THINGS  FOR  US 

I.  It  will  haunt  us  if  we  remain  apart  from  Christ. 


120  WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD 


It  will  probably  become  the  king  of  terrors.  Men  may 
put  Christ  far  from  them,  but  they  cannot  put  death 
forever  away.  They  may  avoid  the  thought  of  the 
cross,  but  they  cannot  avoid  the  reality  of  the  grave. 
All  efforts  to  ease  the  mind  can  only  be  temporary 
aside  from  Christ;  permanent  peace  will  never  be  the 
possession  of  those  who  deny  Him. 

2.  It  will  be  a  blessed  hope  if  we  rest  in  Christ . 
There  was  joy  before  Jesus  as  He  ran  the  Christian 
race,  and  there  is  likewise  joy  before  us  if  we  run  with 
Him  and  rest  in  Him  in  faith.  If  some  one  should 
take  away  from  you  a  valuable  jewel,  but  give  you  in 
its  place  one  a  thousand  times  more  valuable,  you 
would  not  be  disappointed  at  the  exchange.  If  God 
takes  us  away  from  this  world,  and  places  us  in  a 
mansion  in  glory,  we  ought  not  to  regret  the  exchange. 

We  can  follow  the  advice  of  the  old  Jewish  teachers 
who  said :  “  Teach  thy  tongue  to  say,  I  do  not  know.” 
When  we  become  wise  enough  to  know  that  we  cannot 
see  into  eternity,  and  leave  the  whole  plan  with  God, 
we  have  relieved  ourselves  of  a  great  burden,  and  have 
learned  a  most  important  lesson. 

“  I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift, 

Their  fronded  palms  in  air, 

I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care.” 

Bishop  Moule  in  his  little  book,  “  Christ  and  Sor¬ 
row,”  reproduces  the  picture  of  an  old  book  mark 
found  in  his  mother’s  Bible.  There  is  a  picture  of  it 
on  the  interior  of  the  front  page,  and  there  is  another 
on  the  back.  The  front  page  shows  the  wrong  side  of 
it,  and  seems  to  be  an  unintelligible  scrawl.  On  the 
one  on  the  back,  which  shows  the  right  side,  may  be 


WEARY  OF  LIFE  YET  TRUSTING  IN  GOD  121 


plainly  read,  the  words:  “God  is  Love.”  The  author 
has  drawn  this  charming  lesson  from  the  two  pictures, 
by  writing  under  the  curious  scrawl  of  the  front  one : 
“  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,”  and  under  the 
beautiful  words  of  the  back  one:  “But  thou  shalt 
know  hereafter.”  The  wrong  side  represents  to  us 
much  of  this  life  in  which  we  do  not  know  the  end  of 
God’s  plan.  But  we  know  that  there  will  be  a  time 
when  it  will  all  be  made  clear,  and  that  which  in  God’s 
providence  seems  to  lack  a  plan  now,  will  then  appear 
a  part  of  a  loving  and  blessed  whole,  which  will  excite 
our  adoration  through  all  eternity. 

We  ought,  therefore,  to  go  through  this  world 
thanking  God  for  what  He  has  given  us,  and  rejoicing 
that  He  has  laid  up  great  treasures  of  love,  beauty,  rest 
and  happiness  for  the  future ;  that  He  has  promised  us 
more  than  eye  has  seen  or  ear  heard  or  has  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man — a  mansion  at  His  right  hand  which 
is  glorious  and  eternal. 


IX 


BILDAD :  THE  PITFALLS  OF  THE 
TRADITIONALIST 

Job  8,  18,  25 

WHEN  we  take  up  the  study  of  a  character  we 
are  always  interested  in  his  history.  It  en¬ 
ables  us  to  understand  more  clearly  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  his  philosophy  and  the  tenets  of  his  religion. 
Bildad  the  Shuhite,  who  is  the  object  of  our  study  to¬ 
day,  was  evidently  a  descendent  of  Shuah,  who  was  the 
sixth  son  of  Abraham  and  Keturah.  Incidentally  this 
furnishes  a  clue  as  to  the  time  in  which  Job  lived.  He 
must  have  lived  after  the  time  of  Abraham,  but  appar¬ 
ently  not  long  after.  These  descendents  of  Abraham 
had  not  forgotten  all  of  the  teachings  of  their  father. 
If  Bildad  is  a  fair  representative  of  the  Shuhites,  they 
had  a  large  knowledge  of  God.  They  venerated  their 
father,  Abraham.  Looking  back  to  his  forefather, 
Bildad  held  that  his  family  had  a  remarkable  history, 
that  he  could  well  be  proud  of  it,  and  that  he  could 
*  argue  best  from  that  standpoint.  He  said,1  “  Inquire 
I  pray  thee,  of  the  former  age,  and  prepare  thyself  to 
the  search  of  their  fathers.”  He  made  a  strong  appeal 
to  the  tradition  of  the  fathers.  He  was  therefore,  at 
least  to  a  certain  extent,  a  traditionalist. 

There  are  other  phases  of  the  argument  of  Bildad 
which  one  might  dwell  upon.  He  takes  a  part  in  each 
of  three  controversies  with  Job.  He  follows  Eliphaz, 


1 8 : 8. 


122 


PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST  123 


but  with  more  abrupt  statements,  less  argument,  and 
stronger  invective.  In  his  first  argument  he  cruelly 
attributes  the  death  of  Job’s  children  to  their  own 
transgressions  and  calls  upon  Job  to  repent  of  his  sup¬ 
posed  crimes.  His  second  speech  is  largely  a  recapitu¬ 
lation  of  the  former,  he  does  not  assert  so  definitely, 
though  he  does  imply  the  wickedness  of  Job.  In  his 
third  argument,  unable  to  refute  the  defence  of  Job,  he 
resorts  to  irrelevant  statements  concerning  God’s  glory 
and  man’s  nothingness.  The  distinctive  feature  of 
Bildad’s  argument,  however,  is  his  appeal  to  the  teach¬ 
ings  of  the  fathers. 

Bildad  evidently  had  some  revelation  from  God  in 
mind  when  he  referred  to  the  fathers,  because  they  did 
not  have  the  written  Word,  and  what  they  knew  of 
things  divine  was  received,  either  by  direct  revelation, 
or  by  tradition.  Under  such  circumstances  tradition 
would  be  much  more  important  than  it  is  with  us.  But 
whatever  Bildad  may  have  had  in  his  mind,  he  did  not 
get  the  revelation  which  God  had  given  accurately  fixed 
in  his  memory,  nor  did  he  interpret  it  rightly.  His 
argument  was  not  all  correct.  Tradition,  no  doubt  in 
those  days,  as  in  these,  was  often  misquoted  and 
misconstrued. 

There  are  different  ways  of  looking  upon  tradition. 
It  may  be  used  in  a  valuable  manner,  or  it  may  be 
harmful.  Care  is  needed  when  we  refer  to  the  fathers, 
particularly  when  we  build  upon  their  traditions.  A 
doctrine  or  theory  is  not  necessarily  right  because  it  is 
old.  If  the  fathers  did  not  receive  their  message  and 
practices  from  God,  we  may  be  led  far  astray  by 
tradition. 

The  theory  which  Bildad  brought  forward  in  the 
hearing  of  Job,  that  it  is  only  the  great  sinner  who  is 


124  PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST 


called  upon  to  suffer  greatly,  was  a  tradition  then,  and 
in  many  circles  it  is  a  tradition  now :  but  that  does  not 
make  it  right.  The  othejr  so-called  comforters,  used 
this  argument  also.  As  we  have  already  dwelt  upon 
that  method  of  reasoning,  we  wish  to  take  up  that 
which  is  more  distinctive  in  the  personality  or  argu¬ 
ment  of  Bildad,  his  appeal  to  the  former  age,  or 
tradition.  » 

False  religions  are  perpetuated  by  tradition 

Almost  all  false  religions  venerate  writings,  it  is 
true,  but  frequently  these  writings  have  come  to  be 
venerated  through  time  and  tradition.  Many  of  those 
who  follow  false  religions  are  ancestral  worshippers. 

Confucius,  during  a  part  of  his  life,  was  compelled 
to  live  as  an  exile  from  his  native  province,  in  poverty, 
because  there  was  such  a  strong  opposition  to  his 
teachings.  As  time  passed  by,  and  the  followers  of 
Confucius  increased  in  numbers  the  veneration  of  the 
Chinese  for  him  amounted  to  worship,  to  which  the 
second  and  third  months  are  devoted.  Confucius, 
when  a  young  man,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the 
ancient  writings,  in  the  effort  to  restore  the  usages  and 
doctrines  of  the  old  sages.  The  Chinese  venerate  the 
fathers.  To  them  the  cemetery  is  a  sacred  place.  They 
have  so  large  a  respect  for  what  the  fathers  said,  that 
they  memorize  some  of  their  writings  word  for  word. 
It  is  difficult  to  persuade  such  a  people  to  accept  any 
new  doctrine,  or  to  examine  a  new  doctrine  sufficiently 
to  learn  that  it  is  superior  to  the  old. 

The  Egyptian  was  a  traditionalist.  Many  stories 
were  accepted  concerning  ancient  men  and  images, 
merely  because  they  were  old,  and  had  been  retold  so 
often  that  they  considered  them  sacred.  So  great  a 


s 

PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST  125 

desire  had  they  for  the  preservation  of  the  body  of 
the  dead  that  they  spent  time  and  effort  in  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  this  science  until  they  surpassed  every 
other  nation,  both  ancient  and  modern,  in  the  art  of 
embalming. 

The  Mohammedan  is  a  traditionalist.  He  regards 
Mohammed  as  a  great  prophet.  His  cry  is,  “  There  is 
one  God  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet.”  To  the  Mos¬ 
lem,  time  and  tradition,  have  woven  a  halo  of  glory 
around  the  ancient  leader.  If  his  followers  could  see 
him  as  he  was,  a  proud,  hysterical,  epileptic  fanatic, 
they  would  have  a  widely  different  opinion  of  him  than 
they  do  today. 

The  Catholic,  whether  Greek  or  Roman,  is  a  tradi¬ 
tionalist.  Take  tradition  from  the  Catholic  Church 
and  the  whole  structure,  as  the  modern  working  of  it 
goes,  would  collapse.  Certain  decrees  were  promul¬ 
gated  by  one  council  or  pope,  and  after  a  time,  these 
came  to  be  regarded  with  more  and  morf  reverence. 
The  theory  of  the  infallibility  of  the  pope  could  not 
have  been  asserted,  had  it  not  been  that  isolation  and 
tradition  had  surrounded  him  with  unusual  veneration. 
Reverence  for  the  Monasteries,  the  Convents,  the  Con¬ 
fessional  and  the  Mass,  has  grown  through  tradition. 

The  system  of  Mormonism  rests  upon  venerated  tra¬ 
dition.  Strip  its  so-called  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  of 
/  the  halo  that  is  thrown  around  him  by  Mormon  tradi¬ 
tion,  and  you  reveal  a  fraudulent,  unbalanced,  vision¬ 
ary,  immoral  fanatic.  In  Mormon  circles  the  tradition 
of  martyr  has  grown  up  about  a  leader  who  was  in 
reality  a  criminal. 

We  need  to  remember  that  more  is  needed  than  tra¬ 
dition  to  establish  a  doctrine  of  faith.  Many  have 
gone  down  to  eternal  doom  having  the  deepest  vener- 


126  PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST 


ation  for  some  of  the  ancients  and  their  teachings. 
Divine  revelation  is  the  test  of  truth,  not  age. 

It  is  said  by  some  students  of  Job  that  Bildad  built 
upon  an  ancient  poem  from  which  he  quoted.  If  so  it 
is  possibly  the  oldest  fragment  of  a  heathen  poem  in 
existence.  There  are  many  traditionalists  today  who 
build  their  life  principles  upon  the  sayings  of  poets  or 
writers  of  note,  rather  than  upon  the  writings  of 
Divine  revelation.  Many  of  the  poets  were  not  true 
in  their  faith  or  their  theology.  One  needs  to  select 
carefully  when  he  chooses  a  poetical  statement  as  a 
moral  for  life.  If  we  select  such  a  statement  merely 
for  its  beauty  or  its  popularity,  without  comparing 
it  with  the  truth  of  the  Word,  we  may  be  setting  up 
false  gods. 

We  may  accept  at  their  face  value  these  words  of 
Lowell,  that  great  champion  of  freedom,  without  stop¬ 
ping  to  think  of  their  real  import . 

“  He’s  true  to  God  who’s  true  to  man ;  wherever 
wrong  is  done, 

To  the  humblest  and  the  weakest,  ’neath  the 
all-beholding  sun.” 

The  poem  in  general  is  an  admirable  one,  but  this  state¬ 
ment  will  not  bear  the  test  of  the  Holy  Word.  One 
may  be  a  great  friend  of  the  oppressed,  as  there  were 
men  who  were  zealots  in  the  cause  of  freedom  in  days 
of  slavery,  and  not  be  true  to  God. 

EAESE  theories  are  perpetuated  among 

CHRISTIANS  BY  TRADITION 

With  some,  what  the  fathers  said,  is  reviewed  more 
frequently  than  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  the  leading 
factor  with  them  in  determining  their  doctrine  and 


PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST  127 


practice  in  religion.  tWe  do  not  wish  to  generate  in 
the  mind  of  any  one  lack  of  respect  for  parents,  where 
respect  is  due,  nor  do  we  wish  to  undermine  the  proper 
estimation  of  parental  authority  and  teaching.  What 
is  taught  by  parents  should  not  be  merely  tradition. 
It  should  have  its  foundation  firmly  centered  upon  the 
Word  of  God.  If,  however,  parents  are  manifestly 
wrong  in  the  light  of  Scripture,  then  children  are  not 
bound  to  accept  their  teaching.  God  has  the  first  claim 
upon  us  and  upon  our  reverence.  The  missionaries  go 
out  to  heathen  lands  to  teach  the  children  not  to  follow 
the  teaching  of  their  fathers.  It  is  not  an  easy  task. 
But  children  cannot  follow  the  teaching  of  heathen 
fathers,  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  principles  of  religion  do  not  change.  If  our 
fathers  rightly  interpreted  the  Bible  we  want  to  hold 
to  that  view.  If  it  is  manifest  that  they  were  wrong 
we  ought  not  to  follow  them.  No  generation  is  justified 
in  accepting  a  system  of  doctrine  without  comparing  it 
with  the  Word  of  God  for  themselves.  They  will  be 
held  responsible  before  God  for  what  they  believe. 
Those  who  accept  the  findings  of  the  Westminster 
Assembly  are  often  accused  of  doing  so  blindly.  It  is 
evident  that  the  Scottish  Church  did  not  do  so  care¬ 
lessly  in  the  beginning,  because  they  discriminated. 
There  was  a  small  portion  of  the  Confession  of  Faith 
which  they  did  not  accept.  One  who  accepts  this  or 
any  other  formula  of  doctrine,  ought  not  to  do  so 
blindly.  He  should  test  the  doctrines,  by  the  Bible,  as 
the  early  Christians  of  Berea  did  when  they  heard 
Paul’s  teachings.  “  They  received  the  word  with  all 
readiness  of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily, 
whether  those  things  were  so.  Therefore  many  of 
them  believed.” 


128  PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST 


Let  us  prove  all  things,  let  us  hold  fast  to  that  which 
is  good,  and  only  to  that  which  is  good.  Let  us  not 
reject  a  matter  because  it  is  new,  or  seems  new  to  us. 
There  may  be  nothing  new  under  the  sun,  but  there  are 
many  things  which  are  new  to  us,  discoveries  in  science 
and  religion.  We  are  never  too  old  to  learn,  or  at 
least,  ought  not  be.  One  of  the  missionaries  to  Syria 
told  of  an  American  firm  which  tried  to  introduce  mod¬ 
ern  plows  into  that  land.  They  shipped  a  great  num¬ 
ber  of  them  over  there.  Some  farmers  had  been  using 
them  with  splendid  success.  The  soil  that  had  been 
only  scratched  on  the  surface  before  needed  deep  stir¬ 
ring.  But  the  people  would  not  buy  the  plows.  They 
said,  the  old  style  is  the  kind  that  our  fathers  used,  and 
they  are  good  enough  for  us.  So  they  continued  to 
buy  and  to  use  the  ancient  make  of  plow,  made  of  a 
crooked  pole  with  an  iron  point  attached. 

There  are  people  who  are  just  as  firmly  bound  by 
tradition  in  matters  of  religion,  both  of  faith  and  prac¬ 
tice.  May  we  walk  according  to  the  law  and  the  testi¬ 
mony,  but  let  us  be  sure  that  that  law  and  testimony 
are  the  inspired  Word,  or  according  to  the  inspired 
Word,  and  not  merely  according  to  the  tradition  of 
the  ancients. 

false:  lessons  are  perpetuated  by  tradition  when 

THEY  ARE  DRAWN  WITHOUT  DISCRIMINATION 

We  can  learn  from  the  past,  and  anyone  who  ignores 
the  past  is  ignoring  one  of  his  greatest  schoolmasters. 
We  are  exhorted  in  Scripture,  “  Ask  the  days  that  are 
past.”  There  is  perhaps  no  one  who  does  not  occa¬ 
sionally  wish  with  the  Darkie  “  that  his  foresight  was 
as  good  as  his  hindsight.”  No  intelligent  person  can 
well  doubt  the  value  of  reviewing  the  past,  but  the  more 


PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST  129 


intelligence  one  has,  the  more  he  will  discriminate  as 
he  makes  his  choice  of  life’s  lessons. 

The  prophets  were  given  to  us  for  examples.  There 
is  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses  to  which  we  can  look,  and 
from  whom  we  can  take  new  courage  and  new  lessons 
of  faith.  We  should  walk  with  new  faith  as  we  medi¬ 
tate  upon  the  faith  that  was  given  them  when  they 
were  tried  and  tempted. 

We  can  take  encouragement  from  the  past  as  we 
look  back  over  our  own  lives  and  see  how  good  and 
kind  God  has  been  to  us.  We  can  see  wherein  we 
failed,  and  perhaps,  wherein  we  were  hindered  by 
traditional  notions  to  which  we  had  tied  ourselves. 

A  tradition  which  is  followed  continuously  becomes 
a  habit.  If  we  have  not  considered  an  act  carefully 
each  time  that  it  is  performed  it  may  become  a  habit 
which  cannot  be  broken.  Miss  Martineau  tells  of  a 
white  infant  who  was  captured  by  the  Indians,  and 
grew  up  among  them,  trained  to  their  habits,  and  to 
think  that  to  take  the  greatest  number  of  scalps  was 
the  highest  glory.  While  yet  a  youth  he  was  rescued, 
was  educated,  and  subsequently  became  a  minister. 
During  the  Revolutionary  War,  he  held  a  pastorate 
near  the  scene  of  conflict.  He  went  into  the  field  of 
battle  in  his  ministerial  dress,  but  returned  changed. 
A  gentleman  saw  blood  on  his  shirt,  and  said,  “  You 
are  wounded.”  The  clergyman  put  up  his  hands  as  if 
to  conceal  the  wound.  The  gentleman,  thinking  it 
ought  to  be  looked  to,  pulled  open  his  shirt,  and  from 
beneath  it  took  out  a  bloody  scalp !  “  I  could  not  help 

it,”  he  said,  as  he  reflected  on  his  early  teaching  and 
habits.  He  ran  to  the  Indians  and  never  again  ap¬ 
peared  among  the  whites. 

Never  stop  with  mere  teaching  of  the  past  when  you 


130  PITFALLS  OF  THE  TRADITIONALIST 


come  to  decide  upon  your  principles  of  life  or  of  doc¬ 
trine.  We  need  an  open  mind  when  we  come  to  ask 
the  past.  We  need  to  reject  what  is  wrong  and  select 
what  is  right.  In  making  such  a  selection  in  the  study 
of  the  book  of  Job  we  cannot  draw  right  conclusions 
unless  we  do  careful  thinking  and  make  accurate  dis¬ 
criminations.  We  cannot  follow  all  the  statements 
that  are  made  by  different  men  in  their  arguments. 
If  we  did  we  would  become  confused,  because  opposing 
statements  are  made  by  different  voices.  We  need  to 
interpret  according  to  the  general  principles  of  the 
book,  and  the  teaching  of  the  remainder  of  the  Word. 

Let  us  not  ignore  tradition,  let  us  build  upon  it 
wisely,  not  indiscriminately  as  many  men  have  been  led 
to  do  in  the  past.  Go  to  the  last  source  of  authority 
and  you  have  a  higher  source  than  that  of  the  fathers. 
Go  to  God  and  you  will  find  false  ideals  set  aside,  and 
true  ones  set  forth  fully  and  clearly  in  his  blessed 
Word. 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 
Job  9 :  1-33 


“  T"  UDGE  not  that  ye  be  not  judged,”  was  the 
I  warning  of  Jesus  as  He  sat  upon  the  Mount 
and  taught  His  disciples.  There  is  no  one  who 
relishes  an  unjust  accusation  against  himself,  it  cuts 
keenly.  Job  felt  that  the  accusations  of  Bildad  were 
unjust.  He  was  not  guilty  as  his  friends  thought  him 
to  be,  he  had  not  brought  all  the  trouble  upon  himself 
by  wicked  deeds. 

During  the  time  that  Athens  was  governed  by  the 
Thirty  Tyrants,  Socrates  was  summoned  to  the  Senate- 
house  and  ordered  to  go  with  some  other  persons,  who 
were  named,  to  seize  a  man  by  the  name  of  Leon,  a 
gentleman  of  rank  and  fortune,  whom  they  had  de¬ 
termined  to  put  out  of  the  way  that  they  might  enjoy 
his  estate.  Socrates  positively  refused  to  go  with  such 
a  commission.  He  said,  “  I  will  not  willingly  assist  in 
an  unjust  act.”  Chericles  replied  sharply,  “  Dost  thou 
think,  Socrates,  to  talk  in  this  high  tone,  and  not  to 
suffer?”  To  which  threat  Socrates  replied,  “  Far 
from  it,  I  expect  to  suffer  a  thousand  ills,  but  none  so 
great  as  to  do  unjustly.” 

Job  was  a  higher  type  of  man  than  Socrates.  If 
Job’s  friends  were  conscientious  in  their  accusations 
they  were  at  least  misled,  and  their  implications  of  his 
guilt  only  made  his  suffering  the  more  intense.  Job 
knew  that  he  was  not  free  from  sin,  but  he  knew  that 

131 


132 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


he  was  innocent  of  the  sins  which  were  charged  against 
him.  It  is  one  thing  to  stand  in  the  presence  of  men 
and  claim  innocence,  it  is  quite  another  to  stand  in  the 
presence  of  God  and  insist  that  one  is  innocent  in 
his  sight. 

EVERY  MAN  IS  CONDEMNED  AS  A  SINNER 

“  How  should  man  be  just  with  God?  If  he  will 
contend  with  him  he  cannot  answer  him  one  of  a 
thousand.” 

Job  had  grasped  the  truth,  milleniums  before  the 
days  of  Uuther  and  centuries  before  the  time  of  Paul, 
that,  by  the  works  of  the  flesh  shall  no  man  be  justi¬ 
fied.  Suppose  a  man  is  being  tried  and  there  are  a 
thousand  charges  brought  against  him.  If  he  could 
not  answer  even  one  charge  out  of  all  the  thousand 
how  could  he  expect  to  be  cleared?  If  Job,  who  has 
been  reckoned  an  exemplary  man  among  men,  could 
not  answer  one  charge  in  a  thousand  before  God,  we 
may  well  ask  ourselves  in  the  utmost  seriousness,  how 
can  we  stand  before  Him  when  we  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  whole  multitude  of  sins  of  our  lives? 
How  can  a  man  be  just  with  God  when  the  very  best 
man  must  reckon  his  sins  by  the  thousand  ? 

Here  was  a  man  who  was  sick,  he  was  suffering 
pain,  suffering  in  excruciating  agony.  Was  it  right 
that  he  should  be  troubled  with  the  thought  of  sin? 
Should  a  friend  ever  present  to  a  sick  man  who  is 
suffering  intensely,  the  fact  of  the  danger  of  sin? 
Should  one  under  such  circumstances  be  troubled  with 
a  great  and  deep  doctrine  like  justification?  How  can 
a  man  be  just  with  God?  Should  a  friend  not  always 
attempt  to  bring  a  message  of  comfort  to  such  an  one, 
something  which  is  considered  practical,  rather  than  a 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD?  '  133 

deep  doctrinal  subject  when  he  visits  one  who  is 
very  ill? 

We  would  not  endeavour  to  defend  Bildad’s  argu¬ 
ment  or  his  method  of  presentation,  but  to  a  sinner 
who  is  ill  there  is  nothing  more  practical  than  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  in  God.  The  thief  on 
the  cross  would  never  have  accepted  that  doctrine  if  he 
had  not  accepted  it  in  the  midst  of  excruciating  agony. 
If  he  had  not  accepted  it  he  would  never  have  been 
received  into  the  kingdom.  A  time  of  suffering  is  not, 
as  a  rule,  the  ideal  time  to  bring  such  doctrines  to  the 
attention  of  men  with  the  plea  that  they  accept  them. 
But  if  they  have  neglected  them  before  they  should  be 
presented  then.  It  may  not  agree  with  modern  medical 
ethics,  but  it  is  far  better  that  one  who  is  very  ill  shall 
have  the  annoyance  of  a  friend  pleading  with  him  to 
accept  Christ,  that  he  may  be  just  with  God,  rather 
than,  omitting  it  for  the  sake  of  bodily  and  mental 
ease,  allow  his  body  and  soul  to  be  cast  into  the  pit  of 
eternal  woe. 

May  we  be  made  just  by  any  new  and  modern 
method  which  has  been  discovered  since  the  days  of 
Job?  Job  was  made  just  with  God  as  he  was  accepted 
on  account  of  a  sacrifice  offered  in  his  stead.  That 
sacrifice  was  to  be  an  innocent  and  unblemished  victim. 
Thus  the  great  sacrifice  was  to  be  innocent  and  just 
before  God  that  we  might  be  made  to  appear  just  in 
His  sight.  May  we  pay  a  sum  of  money  and  thus 
avoid  the  subject  of  justification?  Ask  Simon  the 
sorcerer.  “  Yes,”  says  Simon,  “  the  gift  of  God  may 
be  purchased  with  money.”  “  Thy  money  perish  with 
thee,”  said  Peter,  “  your  heart  is  not  right  in  the  sight 
of  God,  you  are  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the 
bond  of  iniquity.” 


134 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


Shall  we  work  for  God  until  our  record  is  made 
clear,  as  the  prisoner  who  is  sentenced  to  hard  labour 
works  for  years  in  the  penitentiary  and  afterward  is 
made  free  in  the  sight  of  the  law?  We  may  toil  for 
years  in  the  effort  to  clear  away  our  guilt  before  God; 
but  after  we  have  done  all  Jesus  says  that  we  are  un¬ 
profitable  servants,  we  have  only  done  that  which  was 
our  duty  to  do. 

Shall  we  build  character,  until  after  striving  for 
noble  ideals  for  many  years,  keeping  before  us  the  law 
we  shall  at  last  stand  before  God  with  a  perfect  char¬ 
acter  and  shall  not  need  to  be  made  just?  Ask  the 
rich  young  ruler  to  tell  his  experience  in  building 
character.  He  will  tell  you  that  he  endeavoured  from 
his  youth  to  keep  the  commandments  and  he  thought 
that  he  had  succeeded  quite  well.  But  lest  the  rich 
young  ruler  may  be  mistaken  about  himself  let  us 
turn  to  Jesus  and  ask  Him  how  He  thinks  he  has 
succeeded.  As  Jesus  turns  away  with  a  sad  look  He 
replies,  the  rich  young  ruler  tried  hard  to  keep  the 
law,  and  he  thought  he  was  doing  it,  but  he  failed, 
like  other  men  he  too  is  a  sinner,  he  cannot  be  just 
in  my  sight,  apart  from  the  righteousness  that  I  can 
give  him. 

The  question  which  Job  asked  is  one  which  is  ever 
before  the  human  mind.  The  inquiry,  how  shall  man 
be  regarded  as  just  by  God?  has  led  to  many  forms  of 
religion  among  men,  and  to  various  methods  of  sacri¬ 
fice  and  penance.  The  only  answer  that  has  ever  been 
satisfactory  is  that  which  is  made  known  to  us  by 
divine  revelation,  for  of  himself  man  cannot  answer 
for  one  of  a  thousand  of  his  sins.  How  wonderful ! 
how  simple !  how  glorious !  is  that  plan  which  God  has 
revealed,  by  which  a  sinner  is  treated  as  though  he 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD?  '  135 

were  righteous,  because  the  gracious  and  blessed  Re¬ 
deemer  has  borne  the  burden  of  his  sins  and  has  laid 
down  his  life  in  his  stead. 

attempting  to  resist  god  only  brings  disaster 

UPON  THE  SINNER 

“  Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  him  and  hath 
prospered?  ”  Of  what  value  is  it  for  man  to  set  him¬ 
self  against  God,  who  is  so  powerful  that  He  can  re¬ 
move  the  great  mountains  and  overturn  them  in  His 
anger?  He  can  cause  the  mountains  to  sink,  either 
slowly  or  quickly,  beneath  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and 
can  heave  up  the  crust  of  the  earth  and  cause  other 
mountains  to  rise  to  precipitous  heights  which  defy 
the  skill  of  man  to  ascend  them.  We  speak  of  the 
everlasting  hills,  but  when  God  so  wills  He  can  over¬ 
turn  them  as  quickly  as  He  overturned  the  wall  of 
Jericho.  When  man  stands  and  looks  at  the  great 
mountains  he  may  well  say,  “  what  is  man  that  thou 
dost  consider  him  ?  ” 

Why  shall  man  set  himself  against  God,  when  God 
can  make  the  very  surface  of  the  earth  to  tremble? 
He  can  make  it  shake  as  though  its  pillars  were  giving 
way  beneath  it  and  men  like  insects  are  swallowed  up. 
If  there  is  anything  that  takes  away  the  conceit  of  man 
it  is  to  experience  an  earthquake.  He  knows  not  which 
way  to  look  or  turn  for  safety. 

So  great  is  the  power  of  God  that  He  can  cause  the 
sun,  though  it  is  many  times  larger  than  the  earth,  to 
stand  still,  or  turn  backward  in  its  course.  He  can  hide 
the  stars  so  that  they  do  not  shine.  All  the  great  stars 
march  at  His  bidding  and  each  holds  its  place  at  His 
command.  What  is  man  in  comparison  with  the  great 
suns,  and  systems  of  suns,  and  the  world  and  systems 


136 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


of  worlds,  in  the  vast  universe?  Shall  he  set  himself 
against  the  Almighty  Creator  ? 

God  can  command  the  waves  of  the  sea  and  they 
hurl  the  mightiest  vessels  about  upon  their  surface  as 
mere  bubbles  upon  the  water.  The  greatest  sea-going 
vessels  have  been  sent  to  the  bottom  in  the  midst  of 
the  ocean.  But  a  mere  word  from  the  Lord,  and 
the  waves  which  roared  and  fought  with  one  an¬ 
other  are  quiet  and  at  rest.  All  that  man  can  do  is 
as  nothing  to  calm  the  mighty  deep.  Thus  Job 
pictures  the  mighty  power  of  God,  “  Which  doeth 
great  things  past  finding  out;  yea,  and  wonders  with¬ 
out  number.” 

Nothing  is  a  greater  act  of  folly  than  to  harden  one’s 
heart  against  so  great  a  God  with  the  idea  that  man  can 
resist  Him.  Pharaoh  hardened  his  heart  against  God. 
He  was  sole  monarch  of  the  greatest  empire  of  the 
world.  He  declined  to  hear  the  command  of  God 
through  his  servant  Moses.  What  mattered  it  to  him 
how  vigorously  the  leader  of  a  slave  people  should  cry 
out  for  mercy?  Need  he  grant  their  request?  Many 
miracles  were  performed  to  demonstrate  to  Pharaoh 
that  it  was  folly  for  him  to  try  to  resist  God.  Even 
the  destruction  of  the  heir  to  the  throne,  together  with 
the  firstborn  of  all  Egypt,  only  humbled  him  for  a  day, 
and  he  was  ready  to  try  to  thwart  God’s  plan  again. 
He  would  not  admit  the  great  fact  that  no  man  can 
harden  his  heart  against  God  and  prosper,  until  his 
corpse  and  the  corpses  of  the  men  of  his  army  were 
floating  on  the  Red  Sea.  Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  zenith 
of  his  power  and  pride,  said  to  the  three  men  who 
would  not  bow  down  to  his  golden  image,  “  if  ye  wor¬ 
ship  not,  ye  shall  be  cast  the  same  hour  into  the  midst 
of  a  burning  fiery  furnace :  and  who  is  that  God  that 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD?  ,  137 

shall  deliver  you  out  of  my  hands  ?  ”  The  faithful 
three  never  regretted  the  heroic  answer  which  they 
gave  to  the  hardened  king,  “  Our  God  whom  we  serve, 
is  able  to  deliver  us  from  the  burning  fiery  furnace; 
and  he  will  deliver  us  out  of  thine  hand,  O  king. 
We  will  not  serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden 
image  which  thou  hast  set  up.”  It  was  not  long,  how¬ 
ever,  until  Nebuchadnezzar  regretted  his  blasphemous 
course.  He  lost  his  reason.  “  He  was  driven  from 
men,  and  did  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  his  body  was  wet 
with  the  dew  of  heaven,  till  his  hairs  were  grown  like 
eagles’  feathers,  and  his  nails  like  birds’  claws.”  Bel¬ 
shazzar  with  a  hardened  heart  and  a  stiffened  neck 
blasphemed  the  name  of  God  and  drank  wine  out  of 
the  sacred  vessels.  But  the  hand  of  God  wrote  upon 
the  wall,  thy  days  are  numbered,  thy  kingdom  finished. 
And  the  power  of  Belshazzar  and  his  kingdom  went 
down  in  a  night.  Saul  of  Tarsus  thought  that  with 
the  consent  of  the  Roman  government  and  the  power 
of  the  Jewish  authorities  behind  him,  he  could  go  on 
breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter,  and  nothing 
could  stop  him  in  his  bloody  course.  But  the  voice  of 
God  brought  him  to  the  earth.  He  entered  Damascus, 
not  as  a  proud  conqueror,  but  as  an  humble  suppliant 
seeking  mercy.  All  you  who  are  hardened  in  heart, 
will  you  not  take  warning!  It  is  hard  to  kick  against 
the  goads. 

Anne  of  Austria,  the  Queen  of  France,  said  to  her 
implacable  enemy,  Cardinal  Richelieu,  “  My  lord- 
cardinal,  there  is  one  fact  which  you  seem  to  have 
entirely  forgotten.  God  is  a  sure  pay-master.  He 
may  not  pay  at  the  end  of  every  week  or  month  or 
year;  but  I  charge  you,  remember  that  He  pays  in 
the  end.” 


138 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


NO  AMOUNT  OF  PERSONAL,  EEEORT  CAN  CEEANSE 

THE  SINNER 

“  If  I  wash  myself  with  snow  water,  and  make  my 
hands  never  so  clean;  yet  shalt  thou  plunge  me  in  the 
ditch,  and  mine  own  clothes  shall  abhor  me.”  1  “  If 

we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and 
the  truth  is  not  in  us.”  2 

Job  looked  at  himself.  He  saw  the  filth  that  had 
accumulated  upon  his  body,  the  discharge  from  his 
wounds  and  the  ashes  and  dust  that  had  been  mixed 
with  it  and  smeared  over  it;  he  realized  his  own  in¬ 
ability  to  care  for  himself,  or  even  to  cleanse  himself 
thoroughly  with  water.  He  thought  to  himself,  though 
I  were  able  to  wash  myself  with  the  purest  water  con¬ 
taining  lye  or  alkali  (as  a  literal  interpretation  indi¬ 
cates)  and  make  my  skin  appear  ever  so  clean,  yet  my 
appearance  would  not  be  changed  before  God. 

How  many  since  that  day  have  thought  that  by  a 
superficial  cleansing  they  could  clear  themselves  of 
guilt.  Do  you  see  that  weak-willed  politician  who  is 
called  a  governor,  before  that  frenzied  mob,  offering  to 
release  unto  them  a  prisoner  whom  they  shall  choose. 
He  suggests  that  he  release  one  called  Jesus.  They 
shout  in  reply,  not  this  man,  but  that  noted  bandit, 
Barabbas!  He  made  a  weak  protest,  but  when  the 
crowd  shouted,  give  us  Barabbas,  he  stood  before  the 
multitude  and  washed  his  hands,  declaring  that  he  was 
innocent  of  the  whole  matter,  that  they  must  bear  all 
the  blame.  What  a  fool!  to  think  that  a  little  water 
dashed  over  his  hands,  or  a  mere  denial  of  responsibil¬ 
ity,  would  cleanse  him  of  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  Pharisees  washed  their  hands,  thinking  that 
they  were  thus  making  themselves  clean.  But  their 

1  Vs.  30,31.  2i  John  1:8. 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


<  139 


hearts  were  just  as  black  in  God’s  sight  as  though  they 
had  not  followed  the  daily  routine  of  cleansing. 

Lady  Macbeth  may  wash  her  hands  and  try  to  take 
away  the  stain  of  blood  and  the  remorse  of  a  con¬ 
science  which  accuses  her  of  murder,  but  she  will  cry 
out  even  in  her  sleep :  “  Here’s  the  smell  of  blood  still : 
all  the  perfumes  of  Arabia  will  not  sweeten  this  little 
hand.  Oh,  oh,  oh!”  When  we  try  to  cleanse  our¬ 
selves  of  guilt  it  remains  whether  the  sense  of  it  re¬ 
mains  or  not.  But  the  sense  of  sin  as  well  as  the  sin 
usually  remains. 

Alanus  once  went  down  by  the  seaside  to  meditate. 
While  there  he  spied  a  boy  very  busy  with  a  little  spoon 
trudging  often  between  the  sea  and  a  small  hole  which 
he  had  digged  in  the  ground.  Alanus  asked  him  what 
he  meant.  The  boy  answered,  “  I  intend  to  bring  all 
the  sea  into  this  pit.”  Alanus  replied,  “  Why  dost 
thou  attempt  such  impossibilities  and  misspend  thy 
time?  ”  The  boy  might  just  as  wisely  attempt  to  carry 
all  the  sea  into  the  little  pit  that  he  had  dug,  as  we,  to 
wash  away  the  sins  which  stain  our  souls. 

When,  some  years  ago,  a  vessel  was  on  her  way  to 
Australia,  in  the  midst  of  a  storm,  she  sprung  a  leak. 
It  was  repaired,  but  in  a  little  while  another  tempest 
assailed  the  vessel.  There  was  a  man  on  board  of  a 
very  nervous  temperament  and  a  loose  tongue  who 
began  to  alarm  all  the  passengers.  When  the  storm 
came  on  the  captain,  who  knew  what  harm  might  be 
done  by  a  suspicious  talkative  individual,  came  near 
him  for  the  purpose  of  quieting  his  fears.  The  man 
said,  “  what  an  awful  storm,  I  fear  we  shall  go  to  the 
bottom,  I  hear  the  leak  is  very  bad.”  “  Well,”  said 
the  captain,  “  as  you  seem  to  know  it  and  perhaps  the 
others  do  not  you  had  better  not  mention  it  to  any  one 


140 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


lest  you  should  frighten  them,  but  rather  lend  us  your 
valuable  help.  Will  you  stand  here  and  hold  hard  on 
this  rope;  do  not  leave  it  until  I  tell  you  to  get  it  go.” 
The  man  held  on  tightly,  and  though  he  wearied  of 
holding  the  rope  he  did  not  let  go  until  the  storm  had 
abated,  when  he  was  released.  He  thought  that  the 
thanks  of  the  crew  and  of  the  passengers  should  be 
tendered  to  him,  and  when  it  was  not,  he  hinted  to  the 
captain  that  as  he  had  saved  the  vessel  he  at  least  should 
be  thanked.  The  captain  replied,  “  What,  sir,  do  you 
think  you  saved  the  vessel?  I  gave  you  that  rope  to 
hold  to  keep  you  busy  that  you  might  not  be  in  such  a 
feverish  state  of  alarm.” 

A  man  can  do  no  more  to  save  himself  from  sin. 
The  self-righteous  man  may  think  that  he  can  cleanse 
himself  of  sin,  and  may  set  himself  to  work  with  all 
the  determination  that  the  nervous  man  did  to  save  the 
ship.  But  when  he  has  done  all  that  he  can  do  to 
cleanse  himself  of  sin,  he  has  done  no  more  than  that 
gentleman  did  to  save  the  vessel  from  the  briny  deep. 
If  ever  you  are  saved  it  will  be  apart  from  your  own 
works,  you  had  best  cease  to  rely  on  self,  and  let 
Christ  come  into  your  heart  and  purge  away  your  sin. 
“  Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission.” 

This  brings  us  to  the  source  of  cleansing. 

ONLY  the:  MEDIATOR  CAN  MAKE  THE  SINNER 

APPEAR  CLEAN 

“  Neither  is  there  any  daysman  betwixt  us,  that 
might  lay  his  hand  upon  us  both.”  3  I  think  that  when 
Job  speaks  of  a  daysman  he  makes  at  least  some  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  Job  did 
not  have  all  the  full  and  clear  evidence  that  the  apostle 


s  V.  33. 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


141 


John  had,  who  said,  “  And  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous : 
and  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins ;  and  not  for  ours 
only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.”  4  Job 
was  greatly  tried  and  tempted.  In  the  midst  of  his 
weakness  and  suffering  he  gave  utterance  to  some 
sentiments  which  did  not  become  a  faithful  follower 
of  God.  Yet  Job,  like  many  other  of  the  patriarchs, 
lived  and  died  in  faith.  Throughout  his  life  he  recog¬ 
nized  that  he  could  not  approach  into  God’s  presence 
acceptably,  except  as  his  sins  were  cleansed  with  blood. 
He  knew  that  a  substitute  must  be  offered  in  his  stead. 
Job  was  up  early  in  the  morning  offering  sacrifices  for 
all  of  his  family,  that  their  sins  might  be  washed  away. 
It  is  very  evident  a  little  farther  on  in  the  argument 
that  Job  did  have  a  knowledge  of  the  Redeemer,  as  far 
as  the  facts  were  concerned,  a  very  definite  knowledge. 
He  said,  “  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that 
he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth.  And 
though  this  body  be  destroyed,  yet  apart  from  my  flesh 
I  shall  see  God:  whom  mine  eyes  shall  see  for  myself 
and  not  a  stranger;  though  my  reins  be  consumed 
within  me.” 

Not  long  ago  there  was  a  man  released  from  the 
Federal  Penitentiary  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  who  had 
been  sentenced  as  a  deserter  from  the  army.  Everyone 
thought  that  he  was  justly  sentenced  and  that  when  he 
was  released,  a  man  who  had  broken  his  oath  and 
deserted  was  being  set  free.  But  it  was  learned  that 
he  had  impersonated  a  friend  and  was  not  guilty  of 
the  charge  at  all.  The  friend  who  was  charged  with 
desertion  had  saved  his  life,  and  he  had  served  the 
sentence  in  prison,  appearing  to  be  the  real  deserter 


41  John  2:1,  2. 


142 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


and  willingly  bearing  all  the  ignominy  of  it,  because 
of  his  love  for  the  friend  who  had  saved  his  life. 

Jesus  was  served  with  the  sentence  of  death,  for  sin, 
in  our  stead.  He  appeared  before  God,  covered  with 
our  sins,  bearing  them  for  us  and  suffering  all  the 
ignominy  of  one  who  was  really  guilty.  He  has  given 
us  His  own  clean  white  robe  that  we  may  put  it  on  and 
appear  clean  before  God  just  as  though  we  were  His 
own  Son,  and  free  from  all  charges  of  guilt. 

When  one  is  justified  by  human  laws  he  goes  away 
from  the  bar  deriving  no  other  benefit  from  his  acquit¬ 
tal  than  mere  release  from  punishment.  He  does  not 
depart,  laden  by  the  judge  with  great  favours  and  priv¬ 
ileges.  But  the  sinner  who  has  been  justified  by  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  gains  something  more  than 
simple  deliverance  from  the  present  and  future  wrath 
of  God.  He  gains  every  mercy  which  he  needs  for 
this  present  life,  and  everlasting  happiness  in  the  life 
to  come. 

Some  harbours  have  bars  of  sand  which  lie  across 
the  entrance,  and  prohibit  the  access  of  ships  at  low 
water.  There  is  a  bar,  not  of  sand,  but  of  adamantine 
rock,  the  bar  of  divine  justice,  which  lies  between  the 
sinner  and  heaven.  Christ's  righteousness  is  the  high 
water  which  carries  the  believing  sinner  over  this  bar, 
and  assures  his  transmission  in  safety  to  the  land  of 
eternal  rest.  Our  own  righteousness  is  the  low  water 
which  will  fail  us  at  the  hour  of  greatest  need,  it  can¬ 
not  lift  us  into  that  high  and  pure  realm  where  we  shall 
appear  just  in  the  sight  of  God. 

One  who  enjoys  the  meditation  of  Jesus  Christ 
needs  nothing  more  that  he  may  have  the  highest  and 
best  spiritual  blessings.  May  we  never  cease  to  render 
praise  and  glory  to  the  Mediator,  our  great  and  glori- 


HOW  BE  JUST  WITH  GOD? 


143 


ous  Redeemer,  who  was  willing  to  renounce  the  purity, 
the  happiness,  the  quietness,  the  beauty,  the  love,  and 
the  holiness  of  his  heavenly  home :  and  come  down  to  a 
land  of  discord,  shame,  filthiness,  and  impurity,  a  land 
reeking  with  every  sort  of  sin ;  that  He  might,  by  walk¬ 
ing  in  uprightness  and  purity  teach  us  how  we  ought 
to  walk,  and  by  dying  in  agony  and  reproach  bear  our 
sins  upon  the  cursed  tree. 

“  Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God,  looking  for 
the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  life.”  5 
“  For  there  is  one  God  and  one  mediator  between  God 
and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus;  who  gave  himself  a 
ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in  due  time.”  6  “  Now 
unto  him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling,  and  to 
present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory 
with  exceeding  joy,  to  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour, 
be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and  power ;  both  now 
and  ever.  Amen.”  7 


5  Jude  21.  6  i  Tim.  2 :  5,  6.  ?  jude  24,  25. 


XI 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD  ? 

Job  1 1 :  7-9 

I  HAVE  asked  people  who  have  visited  Yellowstone 
Park :  “  What  are  its  greatest  attractions  ?  Could 
you  describe  its  wonders  and  its  beauties  ?  ”  The 
usual  answer  is,  “  It  is  too  wonderful,  it  is  so  magnifi¬ 
cent  that  I  cannot  describe  it.  One  has  to  see  it  to 
appreciate  it.”  You  perhaps  say:  “  It  is  strange  that 
they  cannot  describe  it.  They  have  been  looking  upon 
material  things,  some  animate  and  some  inanimate; 
they  have  seen  mountains,  snow,  rocks,  pools,  geysers, 
valleys,  lakes,  streams,  rivulets,  canons  and  precipices, 
all  of  which  are  visible  and  comprehensible.  Why 
then  is  it  not  possible  to  describe  it  ?  ”  But  even 
though  they  are  urged,  they  often  reply,  “  It  is  too 
wonderful  to  picture  or  describe  in  words.” 

But  when  we  begin  to  talk  of  God,  of  His  being,  of 
His  perfections,  or  of  His  attributes,  men  may  well 
pause  at  the  very  outset  with  the  remonstrance,  it  is 
impossible  to  describe  Him.  God  is  a  spirit,  and  we 
cannot  describe  finite  spirits,  much  less  the  infinite 
Spirit  of  God.  We  cannot  compare  Him  with  any¬ 
thing  that  we  know.  We  have  never  seen  another 
spirit  with  which  we  might  compare  Him.  But  even 
if  we  had  seen  other  spirits  we  would  have  no  compre¬ 
hension  of  God  because  He  is  as  different  from  other 
spirits  as  He  is  from  man. 

One  of  the  problems  of  the  missionary  when  he  goes 

144 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD?  ,  145 

to  a  heathen  land  is  to  convey  to  the  ignorant  people 
an  idea  of  God.  They  have  always  been  used  to  think¬ 
ing  of  a  God  of  material  parts,  and  of  limited  knowl¬ 
edge  and  power.  They  have  usually  been  accustomed 
to  thinking  of  a  god  which  is  subject  to  mistakes  and 
evil  tendencies  and  passions  like  men.  They  have  no 
word  to  convey  the  idea  of  a  spirit  without  material 
parts  and  a  limited  form.  You  ask,  does  the  Indian 
not  speak  of  the  Great  Spirit?  Yes,  but  the  missionary 
who  is  familiar  with  their  belief  tells  us  that  their  idea 
of  the  great  spirit  is  altogether  different  from  ours. 
Their  great  spirit  is  the  sun. 

You  have  read  of  the  blind  man’s  description  of  an 
elephant.  Several  blind  men  went  to  see  an  elephant. 
One  grasped  its  tail  and  said  that  it  was  like  a  rope, 
another  touched  its  trunk  and  declared  that  it  was  like 
a  snake,  another  felt  its  side  and  thought  it  was  like  a 
wall,  another  took  hold  of  its  leg  and  believed  it  to  be 
like  a  tree.  I  heard  some  one  ask  Helen  Keller  if  she 
could  distinguish  colour.  She  replied  that  green  was 
like  spring.  We  may  smile,  but  it  is  not  strange  that 
one  who  cannot  see  gets  a  wrong  conception  of  things, 
when  he  lacks  ability  to  use  that  wonderful  faculty  of 
perception,  the  eye.  God  must  laugh  at  the  efforts  of 
many  men  who  have  tried  to  picture,  and  describe,  and 
compare  His  being  or  His  nature. 

The  scientist  often  ridicules  the  theologian  and  says, 
all  that  is  valuable  must  be  discovered  by  scientific  re¬ 
search.  He  insists  that  only  those  tenets  of  Christian¬ 
ity  which  have  been  submitted  to  scientific  research  are 
worth  relying  upon  or  propagating.  When  con¬ 
fronted  with  such  a  theory  we  feel  compelled  to  ask  as 
Zophar  asked  many  centuries  ago :  “  Canst  thou  by 
searching  find  out  God?  Canst  thou  find  out  the  Al- 


146 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


mighty  unto  perfection  ?  It  is  as  high  as  heaven ;  what 
canst  thou  do?  deeper  than  hell;  what  canst  thou 
know  ?  ” 

Zophar  thought  he  could  tell  Job  something  about 
God.  He  was  a  man  who  was  very  firmly  set  in  his 
opinions.  But  it  is  evident  to  a  careful  reader  of  the 
Book,  that  Zophar  did  not  know  as  much  about  God  as 
did  Job.  It  was  true  of  either  of  them,  that  they  could 
not  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection. 

When  Jesus  said  to  the  Samaritan  woman,  “  God  is 
a  spirit,”  He  was  endeavouring  to  instruct  her  concern¬ 
ing  the  being  of  God.  Her  people  had  received  only  a 
small  portion  of  the  Bible,  and  they  had  changed  that 
to  some  extent.  Moreover  she  was  not  the  kind  of  a 
woman  who  would  study  even  that  which  she  had  with 
care.  Jesus  wished  to  give  her  a  proper  conception  of 
God,  and  to  correct  her  idea  of  worship. 

How  may  we  know  God  ?  is  a  very  large  and  difficult 
question.  Fortunately  our  eternal  welfare  does  not 
depend  upon  finding  out  God  to  perfection.  Our  eter¬ 
nal  welfare  depends  upon  faith  in  God,  whether  we 
know  much  or  little.  An  appropriate  prayer  is,  Ford  I 
believe,  help  thou  mine  unbelief. 

“  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God?  Canst 
thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ?  ” 

GOD  IS  INFINITELY  PERFECT 

i.  In  His  being .  There  is  no  other  being  that  can 
be  omnipresent.  There  is  no  place  in  all  the  universe 
where  God  is  not.  He  not  only  has  a  knowledge  of 
things  in  all  places  and  in  all  space  by  reason  of  re¬ 
ports  that  are  brought  to  him  by  His  ministering  spir¬ 
its,  but  He  is  there  in  His  essential  presence.  The 
Psalmist  presents  this  truth  to  us  vividly  in  the  one 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


147 


hundred  and  thirty-ninth  Psalm :  “  Whither  shall  I  go 
from  thy  Spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  pres¬ 
ence?  If  I  ascend  into  heaven  thou  art  there;  if  I 
make  my  bed  in  hell  behold  thou  art  there ;  if  I  take  the 
wings  of  the  morning  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  sea;  even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy 
right  hand  shall  hold  me.  If  I  say,  surely  the  dark¬ 
ness  shall  cover  me ;  even  the  night  shall  be  light  about 
me.  Yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee:  but  the 
night  shineth  as  the  day :  the  darkness  and  the  light  are 
both  alike  to  thee.” 

God  can  penetrate  and  comprehend  not  only  all  mat¬ 
ter,  but  all  mind  as  well.  Not  only  are  the  actions  of 
men  known  to  God,  but  all  thoughts,  all  designs,  all  the 
changes  in  the  soul  are  known  to  Him.  “  The  Lord 
searcheth  all  hearts,  and  understandeth  all  the  imagi¬ 
nations  of  the  thoughts. — I  am  he  that  searcheth  the 
reins  and  the  heart.” 

No  finite  being  can  comprehend  Him  who  is  infinite. 
The  finite  mind  has  not  the  capacity  to  grasp  even  the 
full  idea  of  infinity.  Who  can  find  out  the  Almighty 
to  perfection?  “  Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for 
me,  it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it.”  Our  knowl¬ 
edge  and  perfections  may  be  enlarging  through  all 
eternity,  and  still  we  will  not  be  able  to  grasp  His 
knowledge,  or  attain  unto  His  perfections,  or  com¬ 
prehend  His  being. 

2.  In  His  wisdom .  There  is  no  other  being  who  is 
omniscient.  God  only  is  capable  of  knowing  Himself 
to  perfection.  God  does  not  depend  upon  any  of  His 
creatures  for  His  knowledge  of  them.  God  knew  the 
end  from  the  beginning,  He  knew  what  we  would  be 
doing  today,  millenniums  before  we  were  born. 

The  wisdom  of  God  is  manifest  in  creation.  Think 


148 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


of  the  human  body,  of  its  appearance,  of  its  construc¬ 
tion  and  marvelous  working,  and  you  have  an  example 
of  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God.  Think  simply  of  the 
face  and  general  appearance  of  all  the  people  whom 
you  know.  Could  you  not  pick  out  your  mother,  or 
your  brother,  or  your  babe  from  among  millions? 
Suppose  a  mother  lives  in  London  or  New  York,  where 
there  are  millions  who  pass  through  the  large  stores, 
and  any  group  of  those  millions  may  pass  through 
while  she  is  shopping:  would  she  be  afraid  to  leave  her 
child  in  a  safe  place  while  she  goes  to  another  depart¬ 
ment,  lest  perhaps  she  would  not  know  her  child  among 
the  others  when  she  returns  ?  How  can  she  be  sure  of 
knowing  her  own  when  there  might  be  a  number  there 
out  of  a  hundred  thousand?  But  though  there  might 
be  a  million  babes  lying  in  a  row  the  mother  would 
know  her  own.  How  is  it  possible  that  there  can  be  a 
distinct  difference  among  so  many?  You  do  not  see 
the  same  difference  in  the  works  of  man.  You  could 
not  pick  out  a  doll  from  among  others  on  the  counter 
and  then  be  sure  of  knowing  it  from  a  million  others 
if  it  were  placed  anywhere  among  them.  The  mind 
of  man  is  not  capable  of  so  much  variety.  Try  to  draw 
a  picture.  You  will  do  well  if  you  can  draw  one  which 
actually  resembles  any  human  being.  But  try  to  draw 
another  out  of  your  imagination,  another  and  another, 
all  of  which  have  distinctive  features,  and  after  making 
a  few  you  run  out  of  further  variety.  It  takes  an  in¬ 
finite  God  to  stamp  an  individual  appearance  upon 
every  one  of  all  the  millions  of  people  in  the  world. 
The  same  is  true  of  all  God’s  works,  they  are  wonder¬ 
ful,  varied,  and  beautiful.  God  not  only  creates  all 
things  which  have  such  similarity  and  harmony,  yet 
such  distinctiveness,  but  He  knows  all  creatures  by 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


149 


name,  not  one  escapes  His  knowledge,  not  even  a 
hair  of  your  head.  Not  only  is  the  physical  appear¬ 
ance  known  to  Him,  but  not  one  thought  of  any 
of  His  creatures  escapes  Him,  for  His  wisdom  is 
infinite. 

The  wisdom  of  God  is  manifest  in  providence.  God 
did  not  create  the  world  and  then  leave  it  to  run  riot. 
He  controls  all  created  beings  and  all  the  forces  of 
nature  in  His  all-wise  providence.  We  cannot  know 
God  to  perfection  in  His  works  of  providence,  never¬ 
theless  His  wisdom  is  limitless  and  His  work  is  per¬ 
fect.  Consider  His  providence  in  His  care  of  the 
Church  through  all  the  ages.  Think  of  the  many  na¬ 
tions  in  which  it  has  existed,  the  many  enemies  which 
have  attacked  it,  the  smallness  of  its  numbers  at  times : 
and  yet  how  wonderfully  and  gloriously  God  has  pre¬ 
served  it,  how  it  has  grown  amidst  persecution,  and  of 
the  strength  that  it  has  already  gained,  and  is  destined 
to  have  in  the  future  history  of  the  world. 

The  wisdom  of  God  is  manifest  in  redemption. 
Man  did  not  have  the  wisdom  either  to  plan  or  to  carry 
out  such  a  plan  as  that  of  redemption  through  the 
atonement  of  Christ.  Any  system  which  proposes  to 
save  men  by  a  plan  which  human  wisdom  might  devise 
is  unquestionably  false. 

God  not  only  knows  all  things,  but  He  knows  them 
without  having  to  take  time  or  pains  to  reason  them 
out.  He  knew  before  events  took  place,  just  what 
would  occur,  He  knows  every  thought  and  word  of  all 
history.  Can  you  know  so  much?  Can  you  find  all 
these  things  out  unto  perfection? 

3.  In  His  power.  There  is  no  other  being  who  is 
omnipotent.  We  look  out  over  the  world,  we  travel 
over  vast  plains,  we  cross  mighty  rivers,  we  climb 


150 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


great  mountains,  we  ride  on  the  great  ocean,  we  look 
into  space  at  the  clouds  which  float  over  our  heads,  and 
at  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  and  we  wonder  at  the  great 
power  which  is  over  them  all,  and  holds  worlds  and 
systems  of  worlds  in  their  exact  orbits.  We  remem¬ 
ber,  also,  that  there  was  a  time  when  none  of  these 
existed.  God  did  not  have  to  begin  and  build  slowly, 
adding  atom  to  atom,  and  rock  to  rock,  and  lay  field  to 
field,  to  make  one  star  and  afterward  another.  He 
spake  the  word  and  it  was  all  done.  We  cannot  make 
something  out  of  nothing.  Man  has  never  done  it,  nor 
has  he  seen  it  done.  Many  deny  that  it  was  done,  the 
atheist  who  tries  to  comprehend  creation  cannot  un¬ 
derstand  it,  and  therefore  denies  that  God  could  create 
by  His  word  of  power. 

“  The  heavens  by  the  word  of  God 
Did  their  beginning  take, 

And  by  the  breathing  of  His  mouth 
He  all  their  hosts  did  make.”  1 

No  better  explanation  has  ever  been  given,  and  it  is 
all  that  is  needed  to  enable  us  to  know  how  the  uni¬ 
verse  came  into  being.  Beyond  our  comprehension! 
Certainly!  But  simple  to  a  God  of  infinite  power! 

Moreover  the  control  of  the  world,  the  revolution 
of  the  seasons,  the  breaking  forth  of  volcanoes,  the 
earthquakes  and  storms  are  all  directed  by  the  mighty 
power  of  God.  Men  in  all  ages,  men  of  low  and  of 
high  position  have  tried  to  defeat  the  plan  and  power 
of  God.  There  have  been  men  who  have  claimed  the 
power  to  produce  rain  at  will.  They  would  take  the 
power  out  of  the  hand  of  God.  God  is  not  disturbed, 
He  merely  laughs  at  their  presumption.  There  are 
men  who  have  tried  to  defeat  God's  established  control 


1  Ps.  33 :  6. 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


151 


of  death  and  decay,  His  law  of  dust  returning  to  dust. 
An  exploring  Frenchman  in  the  early  days  after  the 
discovery  of  America,  thought  he  had  found  the  foun¬ 
tain  of  perpetual  youth.  But  he  died  as  other  men  die. 
Another  arises  occasionally  who  tries  to  discover  the 
secret  of  perpetual  motion.  There  is  no  such  power 
apart  from  God.  The  idea  arises  not  from  science 
but  from  a  wrong  theory  of  science  and  of  God.  All 
power  is  of  God.  If  you  had  a  machine  which  would 
supply  perpetual  force  and  motion  you  would  have  an 
eternal  power.  Even  the  noted  Edison  has  tried  to 
delve  into  the  realm  of  spirit,  and  the  world  beyond,  in 
his  search  for  an  instrument  which  will  enable  him  to 
communicate  with  departed  spirits.  In  this  he  is  en¬ 
deavouring  to  assume  a  power  which  is  not  vested  in 
man,  and  can  never  be  gained  by  man,  it  belongs  only 
to  the  omnipotent  power  of  God.  The  man  of  simple 
faith  has  more  wisdom  in  this  particular  than  the  bril¬ 
liant  and  trained  scientist.  All  power  belongs  to  God 
and  many  privileges  and  faculties  which  He  has  will 
never  be  entrusted  to  man. 

4.  In  His  love.  God  is  infinite  in  His  love.  In  his 
exercise  of  love  we  cannot  find  Him  out  unto  perfec¬ 
tion.  It  was  due  to  His  love  that  Christ  came  and  gave 
Himself,  and  has  henceforth  made  it  possible  for  who¬ 
soever  believeth  on  Him  to  have  everlasting  life.  He 
did  not  love  us  because  we  were  His  friends,  but  while 
we  were  yet  enemies  He  loved  us  and  sent  His  Son  to 
die  for  us.  Paul  tells  us  that  the  love  of  Christ  passeth 
knowledge.  Pie  calls  upon  us  to  try  to  comprehend 
what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  depth  and  heighth 
of  that  love.2 

God’s  love  is  so  deep,  that,  as  one  has  said,  it  begins 

2  Eph.  3  : 18,  19. 


152 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


at  the  throne  and  reaches  down  to  the  cross.  If  there 
were  an  explosion  in  a  coal  mine  and  men  were  en¬ 
deavouring  to  clear  the  shaft  and  get  the  debris  out  of 
the  way,  the  men  would  not  enter  the  poison-filled 
chambers  until  ventilation  had  been  effected  and  the 
poisonous  gases  dispelled.  But  Christ  goes  down  into 
a  world  reeking  with  sin  and  corruption  and  stretches 
out  a  hand  to  the  weakest  and  undermost  of  the  vic¬ 
tims.  He  did  it  though  He  lost  His  life  while  saving 
them. 

It  was  not  God’s  fault  that  man  sinned.  God  might 
have  lived  on  in  holiness,  even  though  He  had  left  man 
to  perish.  He  might  not  have  sent  His  Son  to  die  for 
sinners.  But  God,  on  account  of  His  great  love,  de¬ 
cided  to  save  man  from  his  state  of  sin  and  redeem 
some  that  they  might  have  life  eternal  and  be  preserved 
to  praise  Him  forever. 

Where  is  there  any  room  for  pride  as  we  contem¬ 
plate  the  wonderful  being,  wisdom,  power  and  love  of 
God.  As  we  think  of  how  great  He  is  and  how  little 
we  are  in  comparison  we  ought  to  humble  ourselves  in 
the  dust.  As  we  think  of  His  might  and  wisdom,  of 
one  who  can  create  and  control  all  the  universe,  we 
ought  to  see  how  little  is  our  power  in  comparison, 
and  to  realize  that  our  wisdom  is  as  nothing  in  His 
sight.  What  are  we  as  we  measure  ourselves  in  His 
holy  presence?  Can  we  think  of  God  dashing  the  na¬ 
tions  into  pieces  as  a  potter’s  sherd,  without  having  a 
spirit  of  repentance  ?  Blessed  be  His  name  and  eternal 
be  His  praise  because  He  loved  us  in  the  midst  of  our 
sins  and  has  stooped  down  and  picked  us  from  the  dust. 
May  God  save  us  from  the  presumption  of  thinking 
that  we  can  find  Him  out  unto  perfection,  and  may  He 
preserve  us  in  His  mercy  and  save  us  in  His  great 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD?  153 

love,  that  we  may  enjoy  His  glorious  presence  for¬ 
ever  more. 

GOD  HAS  REVEALED  HIS  PERFECTION  TO  MEN 

j.  He  has  given  man  an  innate  knowledge  of  Him¬ 
self.  That  man  has  an  innate  knowledge  of  God  is 
proven  by  history,  observation  and  Scripture.  Solo¬ 
mon  informs  us  that  God  “  hath  set  eternity  in  their 
heart.”  3  Paul  tells  us  that  the  heathen  have  “  the  law 
written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing 
witness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing,  or 
else  excusing,  one  another.”  4  Men  therefore  have  a 
feeling  of  accountability  to  a  superior  being,  to  one 
who  knows  what  they  are,  what  they  do,  and  who  will 
reward  or  punish.  Atheism  did  not  arise  among  the 
heathen,  it  arose  among  philosophers.  The  heathen 
had  some  idea  of  a  God  whom  they  ought  to  honour 
and  who  would  call  them  to  account  for  what  they  did. 

Those  who  have  had  experience  in  foreign  lands 
testify  to  the  fact  that  the  heathen  worship  something 
and  they  are  trying  to  find  a  religion  that  will  satisfy. 
The  biographer  of  Adoniram  Judson  in  “  The  Child 
of  the  Ganges,”  impresses  this  very  forcefully  upon 
the  reader.  The  first  part  of  the  book  is  taken  up  with 
a  picture  of  the  unsatisfied  feeling,  and  the  prolonged 
search,  of  a  man  who  is  trying  to  find  God.  He  tried 
first  one  heathen  religion  and  then  another,  but  in  each 
case  with  sorrow  and  disappointment  because  his  soul 
found  no  rest.  After  following  this  man  from  one 
shrine  to  another,  and  from  one  nation  to  another,  and 
pointing  out  that  in  place  of  finding  peace  of  con¬ 
science,  he  was  in  every  case  more  wearied,  unsatisfied 
and  heart-sick:  the  author  sums  up  his  thought  in 

3Eccl.  3:11,  R.  V.  *  Rom.  2 : 15. 


154 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


some  such  words  as  these,  “  Such,  Oh  reader,  is  the 
condition  of  a  soul  without  God.” 

2.  He  has  revealed  Himself  in  His  works.  The 
Psalmist  has  worded  this  fact  in  an  elegant  and  strik¬ 
ing  manner:  “The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God: 
and  the  firmament  sheweth  his  handiwork.  Day  unto 
day  uttereth  speech,  and  night  unto  night  sheweth 
knowledge.  There  is  no  speech  nor  language  where 
their  voice  is  not  heard.  Their  line  is  gone  out  through 
all  the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the  world.” 
So  wonderful  are  some  of  the  works  of  God  that  men 
have  mistaken  them  for  God  Himself.  The  sun,  the 
moon  and  the  stars,  have  frequently  been  objects  of 
worship  by  those  who  did  not  know  God.  The  moun¬ 
tains  so  overawed  men  by  their  majesty  that  many  of 
them  thought  the  home  of  the  gods  was  upon  a  moun¬ 
tain  top.  Great  rivers  like  the  Nile  and  the  Ganges 
have  been  objects  of  worship.  God  did  not  intend  that 
any  of  His  creatures  or  of  His  works  should  be  wor¬ 
shipped  by  man,  but  He  did  intend  that  they  should 
declare  His  glory,  and  lead  men  to  reverence  and  stand 
in  awe  of  Him. 

It  is  evident  that  everything  that  exists,  that  has  had 
a  beginning,  owes  its  existence  to  some  cause  or  being 
which  produced  it.  It  is  admitted  that  the  universe,  as 
it  exists  today,  has  had  a  beginning.  The  cause  which 
was  able  to  produce  it  must  have  been  greater  than  all 
the  universe  together.  Such  a  cause  must  have  been 
infinitely  great,  and  therefore  none  less  than  Almighty 
God.  Some  of  the  ancient  philosophers  reasoned  in 
this  way:  they  said  the  world  is  an  effect  and  must 
have  had  a  cause  adequate  to  produce  it.  This  is  fre¬ 
quently  called  the  cosmological  argument  for  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  God. 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


155 


Wherever  we  look  about  us  in  the  world  we  see 
order  and  useful  arrangement  pervading  the  whole  sys¬ 
tem.  There  must  therefore  exist  an  intelligence  which 
is  able  to  produce  that  order  and  arrangement.  Is  it 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  house  which  we  admire 
was  built  without  any  plan,  or  any  being  to  plan  and 
construct  it  ?  Is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  watch 
had  no  maker,  or  the  book  no  author?  We  recognize 
the  necessity  of  design  in  that  which  we  construct: 
was  there  not  therefore  necessarily  a  design  and  a  de¬ 
signer  to  produce  that  which  is  beyond  our  ability  to 
construct,  namely,  the  world  and  all  the  creatures  which 
it  contains?  Even  a  half  dozen  marbles  which  a  boy 
may  carry  in  his  hand  could  not  have  come  into  being 
in  such  uniformity  without  a  design.  Even  if  the 
atheist  is  so  illogical  as  to  deny  this,  the  teleological 
argument,  why  should  we  be  so  foolish  as  to  accept 
his  conclusions  ? 

Dr.  Carpenter  said :  “  The  atheist  is  like  a  man  ex¬ 
amining  the  machinery  of  a  great  mill,  who,  finding 
that  the  whole  is  moved  by  a  shaft  proceeding  from  a 
brick  wall,  infers  that  the  shaft  is  a  sufficient  explana¬ 
tion  of  what  he  sees,  and  that  there  is  no  moving  power 
behind  it.”  It  is  certain  that  such  reasoning  will  never 
satisfy  the  world. 

Moreover,  it  is  evident  that  man  has  a  mental  and 
moral  nature,  which  implies  that  there  is  an  author  of 
it.  It  is  also  reasonable  to  suppose  that  there  is  a  law¬ 
giver  to  direct  his  moral  nature,  and  a  judge  with 
whom  the  breaker  of  law  must  reckon.  Conscience 
recognizes  the  existence  of  a  moral  law  which  has  su¬ 
preme  authority.  Conscience  does  not  make  law,  but 
it  warns  man  of  the  existence  of  a  law  which  should 
not  be  broken.  Tulloch  says:  “Conscience,  like  the 


156 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


magnetic  needle,  indicates  the  existence  of  an  unknown 
Power  which  from  afar  controls  its  vibrations  and  at 
whose  presence  it  trembles.”  Kant  argued,  that  faith 
in  duty  requires  faith  in  a  God  who  will  defend  and 
reward  duty.  It  is  very  natural  that  Schopenhauer, 
who  denied  Christ,  should  also  deny  that  there  is  a 
philosophy  of  history.  That  he  should  regard  “  his¬ 
tory  as  the  mere  fortuitous  play  of  individual  caprice.” 

Concerning  these  three  forms  of  proof  just  men¬ 
tioned,  Prof.  A.  H.  Strong  says:  (We  quote  with  a 
slight  change  in  the  wording,  substituting  faith  for 
“  intuition.”)  they  “  may  be  likened  to  the  three  arches 
of  a  bridge  over  a  wide  and  rushing  river.  The  bridge 
has  only  two  defects,  but  these  defects  are  very  serious. 
The  first  is  that  one  cannot  get  on  to  the  bridge;  the 
end  toward  the  hither  bank  is  wholly  lacking;  the 
bridge  of  logical  argument  cannot  be  entered  upon  ex¬ 
cept  by  assuming  the  validity  of  logical  processes;  this 
assumption  takes  for  granted  at  the  outset  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  a  God  who  has  made  our  faculties  to  act  cor¬ 
rectly  ;  we  get  on  to  the  bridge,  not  by  logical  process, 
but  only  by  a  leap  of  faith,  and  by  assuming  at  the 
beginning  the  very  thing  which  we  set  out  to  prove. 
The  second  defect  of  the  so-called  bridge  of  argument 
is  that  when  one  has  gotten  on,  he  can  never  get  off. 
The  connection  with  the  further  bank  is  also  lacking. 
All  the  premises  from  which  we  argue  being  finite,  we 
are  warranted  in  drawing  only  a  finite  conclusion. 
Argument  cannot  reach  the  infinite,  and  only  an  infi¬ 
nite  Being  is  worthy  to  be  called  God.  We  can  get  off 
from  our  logical  bridge,  not  by  logical  process,  but 
only  by  another  and  final  leap  of  faith,  and  by  once 
more  assuming  the  existence  of  the  infinite  being  whom 
we  had  so  vainly  sought  to  reach  by  mere  argument. 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


157 


The  process  seems  to  be  referred  to  in  Job  11:7 — 
‘  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  Canst  thou 
find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection?  5  ”  0 

Though  men  have  an  innate  knowledge  of  God,  and 
though  He  is  revealed  in  His  works :  He  is  so  imper¬ 
fectly  revealed  in  these  ways  that  something  more  of 
revelation  is  needed  that  they  may  find  out  God.  Even 
Aristotle  and  Plato  could  not  by  searching  find  out 
God  unto  perfection. 

J.  He  has  revealed  Himself  in  his  W ord.  This  is 
the  principal  way  in  which  God  is  known.  It  is  the 
only  way  in  which  He  can  be  known  clearly  and  ac¬ 
curately.  Wherever  men  have  been  without  the  Word 
of  God,  though  they  have  had  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts,  though  they  have  had  the  works  of  nature  de¬ 
claring  to  them  the  glory  of  God,  though  they  have 
had  philosophers  who  reasoned  in  a  laborious  manner 
and  with  mental  keenness,  yet  they  have  remained  in 
darkness  and  spiritual  ignorance.  It  would  not  have 
been  necessary  that  God  should  have  given  the  Bible  to 
man  if  he  could  have  known  God  without  divine 
revelation. 

Single  books  of  the  Bible,  or  in  some  cases  even  a 
few  leaves  of  it,  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  heathen 
have  been  blessed  to  their  conversion.  Though  men 
may  learn  of  God’s  glory  from  the  heavens,  yet  they 
cannot  learn  of  His  redemptive  work,  and  of  the  way 
of  approach  to  Him  without  His  Word.  In  the  Word 
God  manifests  His  own  power  in  contrast  with  wicked 
men  and  with  false  gods.  In  the  Word  He  not  only 
shows  that  He  is  the  Creator,  but  that  He  is  the  ruler 
of  all  creation.  Job  knew  God  better  than  his  would-be 
comforters,  because  he  knew  more  of  God’s  law  and  of 


5  Theology,  Vol.  1,  p.  88. 


158 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


divine  relevation.  It  is  an  unpardonable  fallacy  in  an 
enlightened  land  like  ours  to  build  upon  the  theory  that 
one  may  learn  enough  of  God  apart  from  His  Word, 
because  forsooth  one  is  a  student  of  nature  or  of  art 
or  of  history.  If  we  are  to  find  God  at  all  we  must 
reach  Him  through  a  Mediator.  This  was  true  in  the 
old  dispensation  as  well  as  in  the  new. 

4.  He  has  revealed  Himself  in  His  Son.  No  man 
hath  seen  God  at  any  time.  But  they  have  seen  Jesus. 
Men  knew  God  more  perfectly  after  Jesus  had  come 
than  they  ever  knew  Him  before.  Jesus  was  revealed 
to  the  natural  eye.  He  sought  through  His  human 
nature  to  reveal  God  to  the  eye  of  faith.  “  God  who 
at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  time 
past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last 
days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son. — Therefore  we  ought 
to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  we 
have  heard,  lest  at  any  time  we  should  let  them  slip. 
For  if  the  word  spoken  by  angels  was  steadfast,  and 
every  transgression  and  disobedience  received  a  just 
recompense  of  reward;  how  shall  we  escape,  if  we  ne¬ 
glect  so  great  salvation;  which  at  the  first  began  to  be 
spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto  us  by 
them  that  heard  him;  God  also  bearing  them  witness 
both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  with  divers  miracles, 
and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  according  to  his  will?  ” 

Christ  was  able  to  reveal  the  future.  He  was  able  to 
resist  the  temptations  of  Satan  and  to  remain  free 
from  sin,  which  no  mere  man  could  do.  He  was  able 
to  forgive  sin,  which  fact  He  proved  by  miracle  before 
a  skeptical  audience.  He  was  able  to  hear  and  answer 
prayer.  He  knew  the  thoughts  of  man  before  they 
were  uttered.  He  was  one  who  was  altogether  lovely. 
Thus  in  various  ways  he  demonstrated  to  the  world 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


159 


the  character  of  God.  Since  Christ  came  those  who 
desire  to  know  God  can  know  more  of  Him,  and  those 
who  deny  God  are  the  less  excusable. 

May  we,  like  the  early  Christians,  search  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  that  we  may  find  God  as  He  is  revealed  in  Christ 
Jesus.  If  we  cannot  find  Him  out  unto  perfection, 
why  be  amazed  or  doubt?  We  cannot  know  God’s 
works  perfectly.  Man  cannot  even  know  himself  per¬ 
fectly.  We  may  know  many  of  the  stars  by  name,  wre 
may  be  able  to  locate  them  in  the  sky,  and  we  may 
know  something  of  their  size  and  composition.  But 
even  the  most  learned  astronomer  does  not  pretend  to 
see  all  the  stars,  or  to  know  all  about  any  one  of  them. 
He  may  talk  about  knowing  the  heavens,  but  he  does 
not  mean  that  he  knows  them  perfectly.  One  may 
know  the  ocean.  He  can  taste  it,  he  can  bathe  in  it, 
and  he  can  sail  over  it.  He  may  know  it  so  well  that 
he  can  sail  directly  across  it,  keeping  in  his  intended 
course  almost  as  directly  as  a  railway  train  keeps  to  its 
track.  And  yet,  even  the  experienced  mariner  does  not 
pretend  to  know  the  ocean  perfectly.  A  child  may 
know  his  father.  It  can  love  and  be  loved.  It  may  be 
able  to  distinguish  its  father  amid  a  multitude  of  other 
men,  yet  it  may  not  know  his  business,  his  plans  or  his 
desires.  Is  it  therefore  strange  that  we  cannot  know 
God  perfectly?  It  is  our  duty  to  endeavour  to  know 
all  that  we  can  of  God.  It  is  also  our  duty  to  recog¬ 
nize  that  there  is  a  place  where  our  knowledge  must 
cease.  We  shall  know  more  of  God  when  we  reach 
heaven :  “  Now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  but 
then  face  to  face;  now  we  know  in  part  but  then 
shall  we  know  even  as  also  we  are  known.”  Though 
we  shall  know  much  more  of  God  when  we  reach 
heaven,  even  then  we  shall  not  know  Him  perfectly. 


160 


HOW  MAY  WE  KNOW  GOD? 


Millenniums  of  years  may  pass  away  in  eternity,  and 
yet  there  will  be  infinitely  more  to  learn  of  God :  He 
will  still  be  infinite  and  we  finite.  We  cannot  by 
searching  find  out  God:  we  cannot  find  out  the  Al¬ 
mighty  unto  perfection. 

“In  life,  in  death,  in  dark  and  light, 

All  are  in  God’s  care; 

Sound  the  black  abyss,  pierce  the  deep  of  night. 

And  He  is  there  !  ”  6 


6  Whittier. 


XII 

ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 
Job  11,  20 


WE  have  now  come  to  the  third,  and  we  suppose 
the  youngest,  of  the  three  friends  of  Job. 
One  would  think  that,  being  younger,  he 
would  be  more  reticent  than  the  others  when  accusing 
Job  of  wrong-doing;  but  he  proves  to  be  very  out¬ 
spoken  and  decided.  Nothing  which  he  says  seems,  as 
far  as  he  is  concerned,  to  admit  of  debate.  A  man  who 
is  thus  set  in  his  opinions,  who  will  not  reason  or  listen 
to  reason,  who  becomes  peeved  when  one  tries  to 
reason  with  him,  is  dogmatic. 

There  was  much  in  the  argument  of  Zophar  which 
was  similar  to  that  of  each  of  the  other  friends.  They 
all  attempted  to  lead  Job  to  the  conviction  that  he  was 
wrong:  that  because  he  had  been  vile  in  the  sight  of 
God  he  was  being  punished  for  his  great  sins,  and  if 
he  would  only  repent  he  would  find  relief  at  once.  We 
are  not  overlooking  this  fact,  or  the  main  body  of  the 
argument  of  Zophar.  Since,  however,  previously  in 
our  discussion  of  this  Book  and  of  the  characters  por¬ 
trayed  in  it,  we  have  considered  that  important  subject,  s 
and  have  indicated  that  the  advisers  of  Job  were  mis¬ 
taken,  it  is  not  essential  that  we  shall  repeat  the  argu¬ 
ment.  We  desire  rather,  in  our  study  of  the  character 
of  Zophar,  to  note  that  which  is  distinctive  in  him  - 
when  compared  with  the  other  friends.  That  distinc¬ 
tion  is,  mainly,  his  dogmatic  manner. 

161 


162 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


One  of  the  friends  of  Job  arrived  at  his  conclusions 
through  experience,  another  < from  the  traditions  of  the 
fathers,  but  Zophar  arrived  at  his  largely  through  his 
own  conceit.  He  began  by  calling  Job  an  empty  talker : 
“  Should  not  the  multitude  of  words  be  answered  ?  and 
should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified?  ”  Then  he  de¬ 
clared  that  Job  was  a  liar  and  a  mocker :  “  Should  thy 
lies  make  men  hold  their  peace  ?  and  when  thou  mock- 
est  shall  no  man  make  thee  ashamed?  ” 

Whenever  you  find  a  man  who  flies  off  in  a  rage  at 
once,  who  is  not  approachable  by  reason,  who  calls  an¬ 
other  a  liar  without  any  hesitation  and  without  definite 
proof,  you  have  a  man  who  is  a  hard  character  to  deal 
with,  because  he  is  so  self-willed  himself  He  takes 
the  short,  and  often  the  wrong  course,  of  ending  an 
argument.  xHe  calls  his  opponent  a  liar,  and  thinks  that 
settles  the  matter.  He  may  imagine  that  it  is  settled, 
but  it  will  not  settle  it  for  a  man  of  reason  and  con¬ 
viction  nor  for  the  mass  of  mankind.  Wrong  prin¬ 
ciples  are  wrong,  however  they  may  be  arrived  at,  but 
the  man  who  is  wrong  and  who  will  not  listen  to  reason 
is  one  of  the  most  hopeless  of  cases. 

The  man  who  is  right  from  honest  study  and  convic¬ 
tion  is  not  afraid  to  reason  about  it :  he  does  not  grow 
angry  if  he  meets  with  some  one  who  has  arrived  at  a 
different  conclusion,  and  whom  he  knows  to  be  wrong. 
He  does  not  simply  make  a  blustering  statement  and 
then  turn  haughtily  away  from  any  one  who  might 
dare  to  suggest  the  possibility  of  another  view.  A  man 
of  firm  and  unshakable  conviction  may  not  be  a  dog¬ 
matist.  A  dogmatist  is  one  who  speaks  arrogantly  as 
well  as  positively  in  advancing  principles.  We  hear  a 
great  deal  of  talk  these  days  about  dogmatism.  One 
of  our  objects  today  is  to  discover  whether  such  talk 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


163 


is  to  any  valuable  purpose  or  not.  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  confusion  as  to  what  dogmatism  is,  also  as  to 
who  is,  and  who  is  not,  a  dogmatist. 

HOLDING  TO  CERTAIN  PRINCIPLES  ARROGANTLY,  WITH¬ 
OUT  REGARD  TO  EVIDENCE,  IS  DOGMATISM 

There  are  some  men  who  act  as  though  they  think 
that  it  is  never  possible  for  them  to  be  wrong.  When 
they  have  taken  a  stand,  even  though  reason  may  be 
against  them,  they  will  not  change.  They  think  that 
it  is  a  sign  of  cowardice  or  weakness  to  change  their 
minds  or  to  admit  that  they  do  not  know  definitely. 

John  Calvin  is  often  said  to  have  been  a  dogmatist, 
but  such  a  view  is  superficial.  Calvin  formulated  all 
of  his  principles  with  scholarly  care.  His  reasoning 
stands,  today,  in  open  form  so  that  any  one  may  study 
it  and  compare  it  with  his  source  of  evidence,  the 
Scripture.  His  reasoning,  though  concise  and  definite, 
when  backed  by  reason  and  Scripture,  cannot  be  said 
to  be  dogmatic. 

There  are  a  great  many  prominent  leaders  in  Chris¬ 
tian  work  today,  who  ridicule  what  they  term  dogma 
and  the  dogmatist,  while  they  themselves  are  arrogant 
and  positive  apart  from  reason,  and  therefore  the  dog¬ 
matists.  Recently  there  appeared  in  one  of  the  most 
widely-read  magazines,  an  article  concerning  a  min¬ 
ister  who  declaimed  vigorously  against  all  sects  and  in¬ 
dividualistic  dogma.  In  order  to  abolish  all  sects  he 
would  establish  the  community  church.  He  says,  “  We 
must  replace  all  sectarian  churches  by  a  new  and  funda¬ 
mentally  different  type  of  church.”  His  view  is,  “  If 
religion  be  an  attitude  to  life  instead  of  a  dogma,  there 
is  no  necessity  for  the  label  of  sect,  and  the  theological 
interpretation  of  the  life  of  Christ  is  outworn.”  Now 


164 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


it  seems  to  me  clear,  that  any  one  who  holds  such  views 
and  makes  such  statements,  is  an  ignorant  dogmatist 
himself.  He  is  like  Zophar,  he  charges  others  with 
being  wrong  when  he  is  the  most  in  error.  He  charges 
others  with  extreme  positiveness  in  their  convictions, 
when  perhaps  their  faith  is  based  upon  the  plain  teach¬ 
ing  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  therefore  not  dogmatism 
at  all,  while  his  is  not  Scriptural  and  is  dogmatic,  be¬ 
cause  he  asserts  very  positively  that  he  is  right  when 
he  is  without  foundation.  In  the  statement  quoted, 
there  must  be  “  a  new  and  fundamentally  different  type 
of  church,”  he  is  extremely  dogmatic,  because  Christ 
asserted  that  His  church  should  always  stand  and  that 
the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against  it. 

If  the  new  church  is  to  be  fundamentally  different 
from  the  Church  today,  then  the  true  Church  has  been 
v  lost.  To  teach  as  he  does,  and  as  many  of  his  class  do 
today,  that  religion  is  to  be  an  attitude  to  life  instead 
of  a  dogma,  and  that  the  theological  interpretation  of 
the  life  of  Christ  is  outworn,  is  to  strike  at  the  very 
foundation  of  the  true  Church  and  to  attempt  to  set 
aside,  in  a  most  arrogant  manner,  the  plainest  teaching 
of  Christ  and  the  apostles.  Where  such  a  theory  is 
held  today  it  appears  that  almost  as  great  a  reforma¬ 
tion  is  needed  among  religious  leaders  as  in  the  days 
of  Luther.  It  is  only  another  phase  of  the  same  funda¬ 
mental  error  as  Luther  fought  against — salvation  by 
works,  rather  than  through  the  atonement  of  our 
Lord.  A  man  who  poses  as  a  religious  leader  and 
makes  such  thoughtless  statements  as  that,  “  the  theo¬ 
logical  interpretation  of  the  life  of  Christ  is  outworn,” 
is  either  ignorant  of  the  Word  of  God  or  skeptical  of 
its  teaching,  so  that  he  does  not  know  the  plan  of 
salvation  as  set  forth  in  it. 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


165 


Think  of  what  that  expression  includes!  In  order 
that  we  may  not  appear  to  be  dogmatic,  but  may  show 
clearly  what  we  mean,  let  us  analyze  the  meaning  of 
the  terms  which  he  uses.  The  term,  theology,  is  of 
Greek  origin,  a  composition  of  two  words,  Theos  and 
logos,  meaning,  literally,  to  speak  of  God.  Theology 
is,  then,  the  science  of  God.  It  is  a  study  of  the  nature, 
the  being,  the  attributes  and  the  powers  of  God.  Then, 
stating  it  more  clearly  without  using  the  term  theology, 
men  of  the  stamp  of  the  one  just  quoted  declare,  that 
a  study  of  the  being,  nature,  and  powers  of  God  as 
interpreted  by,  or  in  relationship  to,  the  life  of  Christ 
is  outworn.  Think  how  dangerous  is  such  a  view.  It 
would  declare  unimportant,  it  would  relegate  to  obliv¬ 
ion,  the  very  center  of  all  religion,  the  atonement  of 
Jesus  Christ.  This  was  the  very  thing  that  Paul  said 
was  the  heart  of  all  of  his  teaching  and  thought :  “  I 
determined  not  to  know  anything  among  you  save 
Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.”  Such  a  principle 
would  be  mere  rubbish  for  a  man  of  such  advanced 
thought  as  the  one  quoted  above,  it  would  be  dogma, 
musty  and  useless. 

Christ  taught  and  the  apostles  emphasized  that,  fun¬ 
damental  to  all  life  is  faith.  Was  the  charge  to  the 
Philippian  jailer  by  Paul,  “  Change  your  ways,  be 
more  kind  to  your  prisoners,  do  not  put  them  in  the 
stocks,  feed  them  well  and  give  them  air,  light  and 
heat,  and  we  will  consider  that  you  are  alright  in  the 
sight  of  God,  we  will  call  you  a  Christian  ”  ?  By  no 
means !  Paul  never  taught  such  a  doctrine !  Paul  said 
first  of  all :  “  Believe  on  Christ ;  without  faith  there  is 
no  salvation.”  A  good  life  and  efforts  of  kindness  will 
not  cause  one  to  merit  salvation.  Philip  said  to  the 
Ethiopian:  “  Believe  with  all  thine  heart.”  The  writer 


166 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


to  the  Hebrews  said:  “  How  shall  we  escape  if  we 
neglect  so  great  salvation?”  But  in  the  face  of  all 
this,  many  who  are  popular  religious  leaders  today 
vehemently  assert,  that  a  moral  life  is  sufficient  and 
the  blood  atonement  is  unimportant.  Any  one  who 
declares  that  the  relationship  of  Christ  to  God  is  a 
matter  of  no  moment,  is  responsible  for  such  teaching ; 
teaching,  which  has  no  foundation  in  the  Word  of 
God;  teaching,  which  God  took  care  to  show  men 
was  wrong,  from  the  very  first  sacrifice  which  was 
slain,  until  the  Son  of  God  died  upon  the  cross.  There¬ 
fore  one  who  endeavours  to  overthrow  this  truth  with 
a  word,  is  the  dogmatist,  and  not  the  one  whom  he 
accuses  of  being  such. 

There  are  a  great  many  men  who  in  religious 
thought  and  discussion  are  dogmatists  in  fact,  when 
they  pronounce  very  strongly  against  it.  They  set  up 
a  dogma  of  their  own  against  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
and  against  that  which  the  Church  has  held  for  ages 
past.  The  fact  that  their  dogma  is  new  and  the  whole 
outline  of  it  is  very  indistinct  and  indefinitely  stated 
does  not  change  the  fact  that  they  are  dogmatists,  for 
they  are  arrogant  and  positive  concerning  the  few 
tenets  which  they  hold,  though  without  evidence  to 
support  them.  If  they  would  only  listen  for  a  few 
moments  to  honest,  careful  reasoning,  and  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  the  Word  of  God,  they  would  learn  that  they 
are  wrong.  But  they  feel  so  infallibly  certain  that  they 
are  right  that  they  do  not  need  to  study  the  Bible  or 
refer  to  its  body  of  truth. 

There  are  others,  who,  in  the  main  are  right,  but  in 
some  things  misinterpret  the  Bible.  It  may  be  through 
carelessness,  it  may  be  because  of  a  limited  knowledge 
of  the  Bible,  it  may  be  through  a  limited  range  of 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


167 


mental  capacity :  but  they  hold  so  fast  and  determinedly 
to  views  of  their  own  that  one  does  not  have  a  chance 
to  show  them  wherein  they  err.  They  are  dogmatists. 
They  perhaps  say  that  they  are  open  to  conviction,  but 
at  the  same  time  they  would  like  to  see  the  man  who 
could  convince  them.  If  Peter  had  listened  to  reason, 
in  place  of  being  so  sure  he  was  right,  he  might  have 
saved  himself  the  shame  of  denying  his  Lord  and 
Master.  May  we  always  be  willing  and  ready  to  turn 
the  light  of  divine  truth  upon  our  views,  and  upon 
our  reasonings,  lest  perchance  we  have  accepted  some 
statement  for  the  truth,  which  may  not  conform  with 
a  full  and  clear  exposition  of  the  Word  of  God. 


a  sound  Faith  and  unwavering  convictiq^t, 
ACCORDING  TO  EVIDENCE,  IS  NOT  DOGMATISM 


Almost  every  reformer,  during  his  lifetime,  is  ac¬ 
cused  of  being  a  dogmatist.  The  fact  that  he  is  on  the 
minority  side,  and  holds  out  tenaciously  against  the 
majority,  does  not  prove  such  an  allegation.  The  fact 
that  he  may  be  convinced  of  his  position,  remain  true 
to  it,  and  die  the  martyr’s  death,  is  no  proof  that  he  is 
a  dogmatist :  it  may  serve  to  place  upon  him,  in  the 
light  of  future  and  more  reasonable  generations,  the 
martyr’s  crown. 

There  are  a  great  many  charges  these  days  against 
men  and  churches.  The  accusation  is  made  that  they 
are  dogmatic,  if  they  are  at  all  firm,  when  perhaps  they 
are  only  standing  against  the  drift  of  the  age,  like  a 
great  rock  in  a  weary  land.  Such  men  stand  in  their 
position  with  clear  brain  and  open  mind,  but  they  stand 
firmly  and  they  are  upheld  by  the  grace  of  God,  for 
God  will  maintain  His  church  amidst  all  the  worldli¬ 
ness  of  the  age. 


168 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


The  idea  of  majority  rule  is  becoming  more  and 
more  popular.  It  is  popular  in  any  country  that  is 
ruled  by  a  democratic  or  republican  form  of  govern¬ 
ment.  In  some  lands  where  the  popular  voice  was  not 
regarded  until  recently;  now  it  is  held  to  be  supreme. 
The  common  method  of  settling  all  matters  is  by  a 
vote  of  the  people,  and  by  many,  the  vote  of  the  people 
is  regarded  as  the  voice  of  God.  It  is  evident,  how¬ 
ever,  to  the  thinking  Christian,  that  a  wrong  decision 
by  the  majority  of  the  people  on  a  moral  issue  cannot 
make  that  wrong  right.  Drinking  intoxicating  liquor 
can  never  be  made  right  because  it  is  approved  by  the 
majority.  The  approval  of  certain  forms  of  adultery 
and  making  it  legal,  cannot  make  it  right.  The  view 
that  a  majority  vote  can  make  a  theory  right  has  gone 
too  far,  and  that  view  having  become  popular  in  the 
state,  is  carried  over  into  the  Church,  and  many  men 
are  ready  to  allow  it  to  be  the  deciding  factor  in  mat¬ 
ters  of  faith.  What  the  majority  want,  it  is  said,  they 
should  have,  even  in  matters  of  religion.  This  is  vir¬ 
tually  saying  that  the  world  should  rule  the  Church, 
that  her  tenets  should  be  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible 
which  the  world  would  suggest,  for  the  majority  of 
the  people  in  this  age  are  of  the  world. 

The  majority  in  any  age  have  not  been  careful 
thinkers  on  theological  principles.  The  old  philosopher 
was  right  when  he  said :  “  One  with  God  is  a  major¬ 
ity.”  Paul  would  not  have  been  justified  in  yielding  to 
the  majority  in  any  school  of  philosophy.  He  was  not 
bound  to  remain  by  the  teaching  of  his  old  instructor, 
Gamaliel,  although  he  was  generally  regarded  as  a  very 
wise  man.  He  could  properly  refuse  the  advice  of  the 
majority  of  the  religious  teachers,  the  rabbis,  because 
he  had  evidence  from  a  higher  authority.  He  had  been 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


169 


r 


given  a  direct  revelation  from  God,  and  he  had  before 
him  the  whole  Word  of  God.  He  reasoned  out  the 
principles  of  theology  in  a  most  masterful  manner.  He 
did  more  careful  thinking  than  all  of  his  teachers  or 
critics.  When  he  was  thrown  out  of  one  city  and 
forced  to  flee  from  the  mob  to  another,  he  did  not  need 
to  revise  his  books  or  his  theology  for  the  next  city. 
He  was  right  and  could  afford  to  stick  to  his  reason¬ 
ing,  and  to  his  faith.  He  was  looked  upon  as  madman 
by  some,  as  a  witch  by  others,  and  as  a  heretic  by 
others :  but  he  was  none  of  these.  He  was  a  righteous, 
humble,  godly  Christian.  Arrogance  or  dogmatism  in 
one’s  religious  views  is  one  thing :  the  charge  by  others 
of  being  such,  is  another. 

We  need  to  weigh  our  own  hearts  and  our  own 
teaching  carefully,  in  order  that  we  may  determine 
how  closely  they  conform  with  the  revealed  will  of 
God.  If  they  do  not  measure  up  to  that  standard, 
then  we  need  to  change  both  our  views  and  our  ways. 
If  they  stand  the  test  of  the  will  of  God,  then,  though 
the  world  is  against  us,  we  need  not  fear.  If  we  know 
some  one  who  is  pious,  and  patient,  and  thoughtful 
concerning  God  and  things  divine,  who  holds  a  differ¬ 
ent  view  from  that  which  we  hold,  we  should  think 
very  carefully,  lest  after  all  our  efforts,  one  so  pure 
and  godly  may  have  searched  more  deeply  into  spir¬ 
itual  truth  than  we.  Job  was  more  nearly  correct  than 
Zophar,  and  yet  Zophar  talked  as  though  he  could  not 
possibly  be  wrong.  The  life  of  Job  and  his  faith 
ought  to  have  led  Zophar  to  be  more  careful  and  re¬ 
luctant  in  making  charges  such  as  he  made.  No  man 
is  a  sufficient  guide,  even  though  he  is  patient  and 
pious,  the  only  supreme  guide  is  God :  but  we  ought 
to  give  more  careful  attention  to  the  corrections  or 


170 


ZOPHAR  THE  DOGMATIST 


reasonings  of  one  who  gives  evidence  of  living  close 
to  God. 

Go  to  the  Word  of  God  with  reverence.  Accept 
truth  because  it  is  truth,  not  because  it  is  old,  nor 
merely  because  it  is  new.  Reject  error,  even  though  it 
may  be  new  and  popular :  hold  to  truth  because  it  is  of 
God,  and  its  authority  is  above  either  the  vacillating  or 
dogmatic  opinions  of  men.  The  truth  concerning  God 
can  never  die,  nor  can  any  man  who  holds  fast  to  Him 
through  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  His  Son,  who  died  for 
sinful  men. 


XIII 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 

Job  12 : 2 

ANCIENT  history  informs  us  that  “  the  person¬ 
ality  of  Pythagoras  deeply  impressed  the  imagi¬ 
nation  of  a  later  age,  and  he  became  the  subject 
of  a  myth  or  legend.  The  legend  avers  that  he  visited 
Egypt  and  other  lands  of  the  Orient,  and  thus  became 
versed  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  East.  It  represents 
him  later  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples  at  Croton,  elicit¬ 
ing  admiration  and  reverence  through  studied  peculiari¬ 
ties  of  dress  and  manner.  It  tells  how  his  pupils  in  the 
first  years  of  their  novitiate,  were  never  allowed  to  look 
upon  their  master;  how  they  listened  to  his  lectures 
from  behind  a  curtain;  and  how  in  debate  they  used 
no  other  argument  than  the  words,  Ipse  dixit — “  he, 
himself,  said  so.” 

Poor  suffering  Job  had  no  curtain  stretched  between 
himself  and  his  friends  who  came  to  inflict  their  com¬ 
forts  upon  him.  Doubtless  he  would  have  desired  a 
curtain  of  sound-proof  asbestos  so  placed,  could  he 
have  ordered  it.  After  he  had  listened  to  one  friend 
after  another  pour  out  their  comforts  upon  him,  he 
felt  like  saying  ironically,  Ipse  dixit ,  “you  have  said 
it,  and  your  statement  ends  all  argument.”  But  as  that 
phrase  was  unknown  and  unexistent  at  that  time,  Job 
gave  expression  to  the  thought  in  his  own  language: 
“  No  doubt  ye  are  the  people  and  wisdom  shall  die 
with  you.” 


171 


172 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


Job  was  more  frank  in  replying  to  his  friends  than 
most  people  are  today,  though  they  may  have  similar 
feelings.  Of  all  the  hard  persons  to  listen  to  with 
patience,  it  is  the  conceited  man  who  thinks  that  he  is 
“  Sir  Oracle,”  and  when  “  I  ope  my  lips,  let  no  dog 
bark.”  Such  men  sorely  tried  the  patience  of  Job. 

CONCEIT  DOES  NOT  GAIN  THE  RESPECT  OE  MEN 

Frequently  we  hear  men  complaining  because  others 
do  not  think  more  of  them.  Evidently  others  do  not 
rate  them  as  highly  as  they  rate  themselves.  They 
have  such  a  good  opinion  of  themselves  that  they  can¬ 
not  understand  why  others  do  not  see  them  in  the 
same  light.  Jesus  says:  “  Blessed  are  the  meek  for 
they  shall  inherit  the  earth.”  Men  will  honour  the 
meek  more  in  the  end,  than  they  will  the  proud. 

When  Rehoboam  began  to  reign  he  sat  upon  a  totter¬ 
ing  throne.  The  very  heavy  taxes  which  the  people 
had  been  asked  to  pay  during  the  reign  of  Solomon, 
which  were  raised  to  complete  all  the  magnificent 
buildings  and  maintain  his  splendid  court,  had  necessi¬ 
tated  financial  support  to  the  breaking  point.  The  wise 
old  men  knew  the  feeling  of  the  people  and  advised  a 
steady  decrease  of  the  burden  of  taxation.  Rehoboam 
might  have  got  along  very  well  if  he  had  answered 
them  in  a  conciliatory  manner,  and  had  shown  that  he 
was  really  seeking  to  be  a  servant  of  the  people,  desir¬ 
ing  to  make  their  yoke  just  as  light  as  it  could  be  made, 
in  keeping  with  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  kingdom. 
But  in  place  of  trying  to  be  agreeable  he  answered 
those  who  were  seeking  relief  in  a  haughty,  conceited 
manner.  He  did  not  propose  to  try  to  relieve  the 
strained  conditions,  he  proposed  to  do  just  as  he 
pleased,  and  they  could  dance  to  his  tune  The  result 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


173 


was  that  a  part  of  the  nation  rebelled  and  the  kingdom 
was  divided. 

The  world  today,  laughs  at  Xerxes  for  his  con¬ 
ceited  pride.  When  the  force  of  the  current  and  the 
wind  had  carried  away  the  temporary  bridge  which  he 
had  caused  to  be  thrown  across  the  Hellespont,  on  his 
expedition  into  Greece,  he  was  so  enraged  that  he  not 
only  ordered  the  heads  of  the  workmen  struck  off,  but, 
like  a  madman,  inflicted  lashes  upon  the  sea  to  punish 
it  for  its  insolence.  Moreover,  he  affected  to  hold  it  in 
future  under  his  control  by  throwing  fetters  into  it. 

The  average  politician  today,  unlike  the  tyrants  of 
old,  realizes  the  value  of  affecting  meekness  in  the 
midst  of  his  constituency,  at  least  preceding  election. 
He  takes  an  entirely  different  attitude  from  that  of 
Rehoboam.  He  says  he  wants  to  be  the  servant  of  the 
people.  It  frequently  proves  afterward,  by  his  actions, 
that  this  is  only  camouflage  in  order  to  gain  votes,  but 
at  any  rate,  it  is  a  recognition  of  the  accuracy  of  the 
point  before  us,  that  conceit  does  not  gain  the  respect 
of  men. 

conceit  does  not  gain  favour  with  god 

It  is  the  humble  person  who  gains  favour  with  God. 
Meekness  is  so  related  to  humility,  that  in  the  Old 
Testament  the  same  word  is  sometimes  rendered  by 
one,  and  sometimes  by  the  other.  The  two  are  never 
wholly  separate.  One  who  has  spoken  on  this  subject 
has  said :  “  As  the  terms  are  now  used  in  moral  and 
religious  subjects,  humility  more  commonly  expresses 
our  sentiments  and  temper  of  mind  toward  God,  and 
meekness  our  feelings  toward  men  who  abuse  or  injure 
us.  The  opposite  of  humility  is  pride.  The  opposite 
of  meekness  is  wrath  or  sinful  anger.” 


174 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


Man  is  naturally  proud  and  self-reliant.  Such  a 
nature  has  no  place  with  God.  No  tenet  is  more 
clearly  set  forth  and  repeatedly  emphasized  than,  “  The 
proud  he  knoweth  afar  off.”  “  Lowliness  of  mind  is 
not  a  flower  that  grows  wild  in  the  field  of  nature,  but 
requires  to  be  planted  by  the  finger  of  God.” 

The  teaching  and  example  of  Jesus  was  so  evident 
on  this  point  that  no  one  can  mistake  the  emphasis 
that  He  placed  upon  humility.  When  seized  and 
bound  He  did  not  utter  any  angry  denunciations,  but 
simply  said :  “  Are  you  come  out  as  against  a  thief 
with  swords  and  staves?  When  I  was  daily  with  you 
in  the  temple,  ye  stretched  forth  no  hands  against  me; 
but  this  is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness.” 
When  Peter  flew  at  one  of  the  assailants  and  cut  off 
his  ear,  Jesus  rebuked  him  by  saying,  “  Put  up  thy 
sword;  for  they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with 
the  sword.”  Jesus  did  not  gloat  over  the  victim; 
rather,  He  touched  the  ear  of  the  wounded  man  and 
healed  him.  Jesus  was  not  in  the  position  of  the  ordi¬ 
nary  man  who  is  persecuted  and  who  cannot  defend 
himself,  but  the  meeker  He  appears  the  milder  will 
the  suffering  probably  be.  He  had  power  to  rebuke 
and  destroy  all  of  His  persecutors  with  one  stroke. 
“  Think  ye  not,”  said  He,  “  that  I  could  now  pray  to 
my  father,  and  he  would  give  me  twelve  legions  of 
angels.”  Fie  could  have  destroyed  them  like  the  army 
of  Sennacherib,  but  He  chose  rather  to  drink  of  the  cup 
which  His  Father  had  given  Him.  When  blindfolded 
and  mocked  and  scourged  He  said,  “  If  I  have  spoken 
evil  bear  witness  of  the  evil,  but  if  well,  why  smitest 
thou  me?  ”  Even  on  the  Cross  He  did  not  rail  upon 
His  enemies,  but  prayed:  “  Father  forgive  them  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do.”  Jesus  by  His  constant 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


175 


spirit  of  humility  gained  favour  not  only  with  men, 
but  with  God. 

Mr.  Spencer  said,  “  There  are  those  who  are  self- 
conceited  in  matters  of  religion;  who  are  pure  in  their 
own  eyes,  wise  and  prudent  in  their  own  sight,  yet  are 
not  washed  from  their  filthiness ;  who  stink  in  the  nos¬ 
trils  of  all  who  come  near  them, — such  as  the  Nova- 
tians,  of  whom  St.  Cyrian  saith,  ‘  They  pronounce 
themselves  to  be  pure  gold.  But,  if  they  be  gold,  it  is 
then  that  gold  in  which  the  sins  of  the  people  of  Israel 
are  denoted.’  They  are  but  golden  calves.” 

CONCEIT  IS  AN  INJURIOUS  POSSESSION 

J.  It  prevents  advancement.  It  carries  with  it  a 
self-satisfied  feeling,  a  feeling  that  sufficient  advance¬ 
ment  has  been  made,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  keep  on 
making  a  diligent  effort.  We  hear  it  said  of  some  one  : 
“  You  couldn’t  teach  him  anything,  he  knows  it  all 
now.”  A  boy  may  be  in  school.  If  he  feels  that  he 
knows  as  much  or  more  than  his  teacher,  it  is  very 
difficult  for  the  teacher  to  accomplish  much  with  him. 
He  doesn’t  feel  that  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  listen 
to  the  instruction,  or  that  he  should  apply  himself. 
He  is  perhaps  the  bully  of  the  neighbourhood,  he  can 
lord  it  over  the  other  boys  and  have  a  good  time,  so 
what  is  the  use  of  bothering  with  studies?  He  defies 
the  teacher  when  she  urges  and  entreats  and  threatens. 
His  self-conceit  is  a  great  barrier  in  the  way  of  his 
progress. 

A  man  may  secure  a  position  and  begin  work,  but  he 
has  a  high  opinion  of  himself  and  will  not  take  advice 
from  his  employer.  He  insists  upon  his  own  methods 
and  his  own  time.  Perhaps  his  employer  is  seeking  his 
best  interests  by  giving  him  timely  suggestions.  But 


176 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


he  is  so  determined  in  his  own  mind,  and  so  defiant  in 
his  manner,  that  his  employer  finds  that  he  has  to  dis¬ 
pense  with  his  services  and  secure  some  one  in  his  place 
who  is  ready  to  fall  in  line  with  suggestions  made,  and 
work  in  harmony  with  the  plan  of  progress  of  the 
company. 

2.  It  sours  the  mind.  One  who  is  full  of  self- 
conceit  is  usually  soured  on  other  people  so  that  he 
does  not  think  he  is  treated  properly,  and  that  every 
one  is  against  him.  He  wonders  why  other  people  are 
so  kindly  toward  each  other  but  slight  him.  He  does 
not  see  that  he  has  made  himself  so  obnoxious  that  he 
is  an  injury  to  every  organization  with  which  he  is 
connected,  and  at  last  when  people  are  so  out  of  pa¬ 
tience  with  his  manner  that  they  tell  him  so  plainly  or 
let  him  alone,  he  thinks  that  it  is  all  other  people’s 
fault  and  charges  them  with  lack  of  religion. 

A  fable  is  told  of  a  pig,  which  runs  like  this :  A  pig 
once  made  its  way  into  the  courtyard  of  a  lordly  man¬ 
sion,  sauntered  at  its  will  around  the  stables  and  the 
kitchen,  wallowed  in  filth,  and  then  returned  home 
from  its  visit,  a  pig  of  the  most  piggish  order.  “  Well, 
Kavron,  what  have  you  seen  ?  ”  asked  its  owner. 
“  They  do  say  that  rich  people’s  houses  are  full  of 
pearls  and  diamonds,  and  that  everything  there  is  the 
finest  possible.  What  nonsense  to  be  sure !  ”  grunted 
the  pig.  “  I  saw  no  splendour  at  all, — nothing  but  dirt 
and  offal;  and  yet  I  didn’t  spare  my  snout,  but  rum¬ 
maged  the  whole  of  the  backyard.” 

There  are  many  people  of  the  nature  and  manners 
that  they  are  constantly  meeting  with  rebuffs.  They 
wonder  why  it  is,  but  they  have  gotten  just  what  they 
were  looking  for  according  to  their  nature. 

It  hardens  the  heart.  One  who  is  lifted  up  with 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


177 


pride,  like  Pharaoh,  becomes  harder  and  harder  in 
heart.  The  lowly  man  draws  nearer  to  God,  and  the 
haughty  drifts  farther  and  farther  from  Him.  One 
has  said :  “  Let  us  not  be  satisfied  with  a  small  degree 
of  this  lowliness,  but  strive  after  it,  make  it  an  object, 
so  run  as  to  obtain  it,  and  remember  that  he  who  is 
contented  with  grace  enough  to  get  to  heaven,  and 
desires  no  more,  may  be  very  sure  that  he  has  none 
at  all.” 

Haman’s  pride  grew  a  little  larger  and  his  contempt 
for  Mordecai  and  the  Jews  grew  stronger  every  time 
he  saw  the  hated  Jew.  At  last  his  heart  became  so 
hardened  that  he  would  gladly  have  seen  the  body  of 
Mordecai  dangling  from  a  tall  gallows  where  everyone 
might  see,  and  as  he  hoped,  despise  him.  His  hard¬ 
ened  request  for  the  life  of  Mordecai  reverted  upon 
his  own  head,  and  his  life  was  forfeited  on  account  of 
his  haughty  conceit. 

CONCEIT  UNEORGIVEN  ENDS  IN  DESTRUCTION 

“  Pride  goeth  before  destruction  and  a  haughty 
spirit  before  a  fall.”  A  noted  writer  says,  “  The  vain¬ 
glorious  man  looks  upon  himself  through  a  false  glass 
which  makes  everything  fairer  and  greater  than  it  is; 
and  this  flatulous  humour  filleth  the  empty  bladder  of 
his  vast  thoughts  with  so  much  wind  of  pride,  that  he 
presumes  that  Fortune,  who  hath  once  been  his  good 
mistress,  should  ever  be  his  handmaid.  But  let  him 
know  that  the  wings  of  self-conceit,  wherewith  he 
towereth  so  high  are  but  patched  and  pieced  up  of  bor¬ 
rowed  feathers,  and  that,  too,  in  the  soft  wax  of  un¬ 
certain  hope,  which  in  the  encounter  of  very  small  heat 
of  danger,  will  melt,  and  fail  him  at  his  greatest  need; 
for  fortune  deals  with  him  as  the  eagle  with  the  tor- 


178 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


toise — she  carries  him  the  higher,  that  she  may  break 
him  the  easier.  It  would,  therefore,  be  good  advice, 
that  in  the  midst  of  his  prosperity  he  should  think  of 
the  world’s  instability,  and  that  Fortune  is  constant  in 
nothing  but  inconstancy.” 

Uzziah  was  a  very  prosperous  king.  He  built  up 
the  kingdom.  He  increased  the  military  forces  and 
equipment  so  that  he  conquered  both  the  Philistines 
and  Arabians,  and  the  Ammonites  paid  tribute  to  him. 
“  His  name  spread  far  abroad,  for  he  was  marvelously 
helped  till  he  was  strong,  his  heart  was  lifted  up  to 
his  destruction.”  Because  of  his  pride  and  his  sin  due 
to  it,  he  was  cursed  of  God,  he  was  afflicted  with  lep¬ 
rosy,  and  died  an  outcast,  a  miserable  leper. 

“  There  never  was  a  saint  yet,”  says  Spurgeon, 
“  that  grew  so  proud  of  his  fine  feathers,  but  what  the 
Lord  plucked  them  out,  by  and  by ;  there  never  yet  was 
an  angel  that  had  pride  in  his  heart,  but  he  lost  his 
wings  and  fell  into  Gehenna,  as  Satan  and  those  fallen 
angels  did;  and  there  never  shall  be  a  saint  who  in¬ 
dulges  self-conceit  and  pride  and  self-confidence,  but 
the  Lord  will  spoil  his  glories,  and  trample  his  honours 
in  the  mire,  and  make  him  cry  out  yet  again,  Lord 
have  mercy  upon  me,  less  than  the  least  of  all  the 
saints,  and  the  very  chief  of  sinners.”  “  A  man’s 
pride  shall  bring  him  low :  but  honour  shall  uphold  the 
humble  in  spirit.” 

When  Christian  and  Hopeful  wandered  out  of  the 
right  path  and  were  on  their  way  to  despair,  they 
caught  up  with  one  by  the  name  of  Vain-Confidence 
who  assured  them  that  he  was  on  the  way  to  the  Ce¬ 
lestial  City  and  they  had  only  to  follow  him.  But  as 
he  hastened  on  before,  he  fell  into  a  deep  pit  which 
was  placed  there  by  the  prince  of  those  grounds  to 


THE  DECEPTION  OF  CONCEIT 


179 


catch  vainglorious  fools.  All  they  heard  of  him  after 
that,  though  they  called  to  him,  was  a  groaning.  He 
was  forever  lost.  And  then  the  author  refers  to  this 
verse  of  Isaiah:  “  For  the  leaders  of  this  people  cause 
them  to  err;  and  they  that  are  led  of  them  are 
destroyed.”  1 

If,  then,  conceit  is  so  deceptive  that  it  does  not  gain 
the  favour  of  man  or  of  God,  is  an  injurious  possession 
and  ends  in  eternal  destruction,  we  ought  not  to  be  long 
in  making  up  our  minds  to  cease  to  trust  in  it.  We 
ought,  in  meekness  of  mind  and  humility  of  heart,  to 
put  all  of  our  confidence,  not  in  self,  but  in  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  meek  and  lowly  of  heart  and  in  Whom 
we  shall  find  rest  for  our  souls. 


1  Isa.  9: 16. 


XIV 

GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 

Job  12 :  10-25 


WHILE  the  message  of  Job  was  not  primarily  a 
social  one,  yet  in  his  argument  concerning  the 
omnipotent  power  of  God,  he  uttered  some 
profound  statements  concerning  the  relation  of  nations 
to  God.  The  twenty-third  verse — “  He  increaseth  the 
nations,  and  destroyeth  them ;  he  enlargeth  the  nations, 
and  straiteneth  them  again  ” — is  as  clear  as  any  other 
in  the  Bible,  in  setting  forth  God’s  power  over  the 
nations.  It  shows  that  God  may  increase  the  number 
of  inhabitants  and  enlarge  the  bounds  of  a  nation,  so 
that  it  makes  a  great  showing  among  the  nations,  then 
He  may  cause  it  to  decline,  or  He  may  terminate  its 
existence.  The  sources  of  prosperity  of  a  nation  are  in 
the  hand  of  God.  He  can  visit  them  with  famine, 
pestilence  or  war,  until  their  numbers  are  decreased 
and  their  prosperity  of  former  years  is  known  only 
by  the  record  in  history.  “  He  blesseth  them  also, 
so  that  they  are  multiplied  greatly,  and  suffereth  not 
their  cattle  to  decrease.  Again  they  are  minished, 
and  brought  low  through  oppression,  affliction,  and 
sorrow.”  1 

Even  if  Job  lived  as  early  as  the  time  of  Abraham, 
he  had  ample  opportunity  to  witness  the  rise  and  fall  of 
nations.  Abraham  came  into  contact  with  an  alliance 
of  nations  and  defeated  them  to  save  Lot.  That  there 


i  Ps.  107:38,  39. 


180 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  181 


was  extensive  legislation  in  nations  at  that  time  is  evi¬ 
denced  by  the  code  of  Hammurabi,  which  was  discov¬ 
ered  at  Susa.  Hammurabi  is  identical  with  Amraphel, 
whom  Abraham  overtook  and  captured.2  God  directed 
Abraham  and  strengthened  him,  so  that  with  a  small 
group  of  armed  men,  he  defeated  an  alliance  of  na¬ 
tions.  Consequently  Job  could  say,  from  his  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  destiny  of  nations  in  that  early  day :  “  God 
increaseth  the  nations  and  destroyeth  them,”  for :  “  In 
his  hand  is  the  soul  of  every  living  thing,  and  the 
breath  of  all  mankind.” 

THAT  GOD  IS  THE  STRENGTH  OE  THE  NATIONS  IS  A 
PLAIN  TEACHING  OE  THE  BIBLE 

God  made  this  fact  clear  to  Israel,  and  in  fact  to  all 
the  nations,  in  the  early  epochs  of  the  world’s  history. 
He  taught  it  through  Abraham,  Job  and  Moses.  God’s 
care  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  their  deliverance  from  bond¬ 
age,  and  the  exodus,  is  a  vivid  exposition  of  this  great 
truth.  Led  by  Moses,  Israel  sang  at  the  Red  Sea :  “  I 
will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  glori¬ 
ously  :  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the 
sea. — The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war :  the  Lord  is  his  name. 
Pharaoh’s  chariots  and  his  host  hath  he  cast  into  the 
sea. — The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.” 

Dr.  S.  H.  Kellogg,  in  the  Expositor’s  Bible,  when 
drawing  the  practical  lessons  concerning  the  sin  offer¬ 
ing,  after  quoting  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  verses 
of  the  fourth  chapter  of  Leviticus,  says :  “  Thus  Israel 
was  taught  by  this  law,  as  we  are,  that  responsibility 
attaches  not  only  to  each  individual  person,  but  also  to 
associations  of  individuals  in  their  corporate  character, 
as  nations,  communities,  and — we  may  add — all  So- 


2  Gen.  14. 


182  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


cieties  and  Corporations,  whether  secular  or  religious. 
Let  us  emphasize  it  to  our  own  consciences,  as  another 
of  the  fundamental  lessons  of  this  law :  there  is  indi¬ 
vidual  sin ;  there  is  also  such  a  thing  as  sin  by  ‘  the 
whole  congregation.’  In  other  words,  God  holds  na¬ 
tions,  communities — in  a  word,  all  associations  and 
combinations  of  men  for  whatever  purpose,  no  less 
under  obligation  in  their  corporate  capacity  to  keep 
His  law  than  as  individuals,  and  will  count  them  guilty 
if  they  break  it,  even  through  ignorance. 

“  Never  has  a  generation  needed  this  reminder  more 
than  our  own.  The  political  and  social  principles 
which,  since  the  French  Revolution  in  the  end  of  the 
last  century,  have  been,  year  by  year,  more  and  more 
generally  accepted  among  the  nations  of  Christendom, 
are  everywhere  tending  to  the  avowed  practical  denial 
of  this  most  important  truth.  It  is  a  maxim  ever  more 
and  more  extensively  accepted  as  almost  axiomatic  in 
our  modern  democratic  communities,  that  religion  is 
wholly  a  concern  of  the  individual;  and  that  a  nation 
or  community  as  such,  should  make  no  distinction  be¬ 
tween  various  religions  as  false  or  true,  but  maintain 
an  absolute  neutrality,  even  between  Christianity  and 
idolatry,  or  theism  and  atheism.  It  should  take  little 
thought  that  this  modern  maxim  stands  in  direct  op¬ 
position  to  the  principle  assumed  in  this  law  of  the 
sin-offering;  namely,  that  a  community  or  nation  is  as 
truly  and  directly  responsible  to  God  as  the  individual 
in  the  nation.  But  this  corporate  responsibility  the 
spirit  of  the  age  squarely  denies. 

“  Not  all,  indeed,  in  our  modern  so-called  Christian 
nations  have  come  to  this.  But  no  one  will  deny  that 
this  is  the  mind  of  the  vanguard  of  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury  liberalism  in  religion  and  politics.  Many  of  our 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  183 


political  leaders  in  all  lands  make  no  secret  of  their 
views  on  the  subject.  A  purely  secular  state  is  every¬ 
where  held  up,  and  that  with  great  plausibility  and  per¬ 
suasiveness,  as  the  ideal  of  political  government;  the 
goal  to  the  attainment  of  which  all  good  citizens  should 
unite  their  efforts.  *  *  *  It  is  not  strange,  indeed,  to 
see  atheists,  agnostics,  and  others  who  deny  the  Chris¬ 
tian  faith,  maintaining  this  position ;  but  when  we  hear 
men  who  call  themselves  Christians — in  many  cases 
even  Christian  ministers — advocating,  in  one  form  or 
another,  governmental  neutrality  in  religion  as  the  only 
right  basis  of  government,  one  may  well  be  amazed. 
For  Christians  are  supposed  to  accept  the  Holy  Scrip¬ 
tures  as  the  law  of  faith  and  morals,  private  and  pub¬ 
lic;  and  where  in  all  the  Scriptures  will  any  one  find 
such  an  attitude  of  any  nation  or  people  mentioned, 
but  to  be  condemned  and  threatened  with  the  judgment 
of  God? 

“  Will  any  one  venture  to  say  that  this  teaching  of 
the  law  of  the  sin-offering  was  only  intended,  like  the 
offering  itself,  for  the  old  Hebrews?  Is  it  not  rather 
the  constant  and  most  emphatic  teaching  of  the  whole 
Scriptures,  that  God  dealt  with  all  the  ancient  Gentile 
nations  on  the  same  principle?  ”  3 

“  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  re¬ 
proach  to  any  people.”  4  “  The  nation  of  Israel  was 

most  prosperous  when  it  was  most  religious,  under  the 
pious  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon.  And  when  did 
it  become  an  abomination,  and  a  hissing,  and  a  destruc¬ 
tion,  but  when  it  departed  from  the  Lord,  and  filled  up 
the  cup  of  its  iniquity  by  rejecting  the  Messiah?  ”  5 

That  God  is  the  strength  of  nations  is  set  forth 

3  Expositor’s  Bible,  Leviticus,  pp.  125-6.  4  Prov.  14 :  34, 

5  Messiah  the  Prince,  Symington,  p.  283. 


184  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


clearly  in  the  second  Psalm,  which  is  manifestly  Mes¬ 
sianic.  “  Why  do  the  nations  rage,  and  the  peoples 
meditate  a  vain  thing?  The  kings  of  the  earth  set 
themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together, 
against  Jehovah,  and  against  his  anointed,  saying,  let 
us  break  their  bonds  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords 
from  us.  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh: 
the  Lord  will  have  them  in  derision.  Then  will  he 
speak  to  them  in  his  wrath,  and  vex  them  in  his  sore 
displeasure. — -Now  therefore  be  wise,  O  ye  kings:  be 
instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth.  Serve  Jehovah 
with  fear  and  rejoice  with  trembling.  Kiss  the  son, 
lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  in  the  way,  for  his 
wrath  will  soon  be  kindled.  Blessed  are  all  they  that 
take  refuge  in  him.”  6 

“  The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the 
nations  that  forget  God.” 7  National  destruction 
awaits  all  the  nations  that  forget  God.  God,  speaking 
through  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  says :  “  At  what  instant 
I  shall  speak  concerning  a  nation,  and  concerning  a 
kingdom,  to  pluck  up,  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  destroy 
it:  if  that  nation,  against  whom  I  have  pronounced, 
turn  from  their  evil,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I 
thought  to  do  unto  them.  And  at  what  instant  I  shall 
speak  concerning  a  nation,  and  concerning  a  kingdom, 
to  build  and  to  plant  it:  if  it  do  evil  in  my  sight,  that 
it  obey  not  my  voice,  then  I  will  repent  of  the  good 
wherewith  I  said  I  would  benefit  them.”  8 

Daniel  was  permitted  to  live  to  a  ripe  old  age,  during 
which  time,  he  had  a  part,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
in  teaching  one  king  after  another,  that  kings  and  na¬ 
tions  derive  their  strength  from  God,  and  according  to 
His  will  rise  or  fall.  If  we  have  conceived  the  notion 


6  American  Revision.  7  Ps.  9:17.  8Jer.  18:7-10. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  185 


that  God  had  to  do  only  with  Israel,  as  a  nation,  may 
we  remember  that  all  of  the  nations  under  which  Dan¬ 
iel  served  were  Gentile  nations.  In  the  vision  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  saw,  of  a  great  tree  which  extended 
to  heaven,  but  was  cut  down,  leaving  only  the  stump : 
Daniel  showed  that  the  tree  represented  Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar  himself,  and  that  if  he  did  not  repent  he  would 
be  made  to  eat  grass  with  the  oxen  until  he  should 
know  that  God  ruled,  and  he  and  his  empire  were  sub¬ 
ject  to  Him.  He  was  given  a  year  in  which  to  repent ; 
but  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  was  more  haughty 
and  defiant  than  ever.  As  he  walked  in  the  palace  he 
boasted :  “  Is  not  this  great  Babylon,  that  I  have  built 
for  the  house  of  the  kingdom,  by  the  might  of  my 
power,  and  for  the  honour  of  my  majesty?  While  the 
word  was  in  the  king’s  mouth,  there  fell  a  voice  from 
heaven,  saying,  O  king  Nebuchadnezzar,  to  thee  it  is 
spoken;  The  kingdom  is  departed  from  thee:  and  they 
shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy  dwelling  shall  be 
with  the  beasts  of  the  field :  they  shall  make  thee  to  eat 
grass  as  oxen,  and  seven  times  shall  pass  over  thee, 
until  thou  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  king¬ 
dom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will.” 
After  seven  years  of  the  most  terrible  humiliation,  his 
reason  was  given  to  him  again,  and  he  was  willing  to 
admit  that  the  Most  High  liveth  forever,  “  whose  do¬ 
minion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  and  his  kingdom  is 
from  generation  to  generation:  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  are  reputed  as  nothing:  and  he  doeth  ac¬ 
cording  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth;  and  none  can  stay  his 
hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou  ?  ”  9 

When  the  voice  of  God  spoke  to  Belshazzar  he  was 

9  Dan.  4 :  30-35. 


186  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


not  given  a  year,  or  even  a  night,  in  which  to  repent. 
Dissipation  and  drunkenness,  while  they  are  great  sins, 
were  not  the  only  sins  of  Belshazzar,  nor  were  they 
primarily  the  cause  of  the  fall  of  the  Chaldean  empire. 
Belshazzar  met  his  fate  because  he  had  not  humbled 
his  heart  before  God,  but  had  lifted  it  up  against  the 
God  of  heaven.  He  knew  the  lesson  which  God  had 
taught  so  forcefully  to  his  father,  Nebuchadnezzar,  but 
notwithstanding,  he  had  gone  on  in  sin  and  had  dis¬ 
honoured  God  in  a  flagrant  manner  by  drinking  out 
of  the  sacred  vessels  and  praising  “  the  gods  of  silver, 
and  gold,  brass,  iron,  wood  and  stone.”  God  wrote 
his  doom  upon  the  wall  while  the  trembling  knees  of 
the  defiant  king  smote  together.  The  first  statement 
is  repeated  for  emphasis,  in  order  that  kings  and  na¬ 
tions  of  future  ages  might  not  miss  the  point:  “  God 
hath  numbered  thy  kingdom,  and  finished  it.  God 
hath  numbered  thy  kingdom,  and  finished  it.  Thou  art 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting.  Thy 
kingdom  is  divided,  and  given  to  the  Medes  and  Per¬ 
sians. — In  that  night  was  Belshazzar  the  king  of  the 
Chaldeans  slain.”  10 

Years  later  king  Herod,  decked  in  all  his  royal  robes, 
sat  upon  the  throne  and  made  a  great  oration  to  the 
people.  “  The  people  gave  a  shout,  saying,  It  is  the 
voice  of  a  god,  and  not  of  a  man.”  But  they  had 
scarcely  ceased  to  shout,  when  God  smote  him  and  he 
was  eaten  of  worms.  Why?  Because  he  gave  not 
God  the  glory.11 

Paul  assures  us  that  “  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ”  is 
“  the  blessed  and  only  Potentate,  the  King  of  kings, 
and  Lord  of  Lords.” 12  John  reminds  us  in  the 
Apocalypse  that  Christ  will  deal  sternly  with  the  rebel- 


10  Dan.  5.  11  Acts  12:21-23.  12  1  Tim.  6:14,  15. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  187 


lious  nations :  “  As  the  vessels  of  a  potter  shall  they  be 
broken  to  shivers :  even  as  I  received  of  my  Father.”  13 

There  is  no  lesson  more  evident  in  Scripture,  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation,  than  this :  namely,  that  God  is 
the  strength  of  nations,  and  that  they  rise,  expand,  or 
fall,  accordingly  as  they  trust  or  offend  Him. 

THAT  GOD  IS  THE  STRENGTH  OE  NATIONS  IS  A  PLAIN 

TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  course  of  history  usually  follows  the  rise, 
progress  and  fall  of  nations.  How  does  history  bear 
out  the  conclusions  of  Job,  that  “  God  increaseth  the 
nations  and  destroy eth  them”?  If  one  reads  history 
with  his  “  eyes  and  not  with  his  prejudices,”  he  will 
discover  that  the  chief  factor  is  God.  “  The  nations 
which  have  been  hurled  down  from  the  supremacy 
which  they  formerly  possessed,  perished  not  from  the 
want  of  resources,  but  of  the  courage  and  the  skill  to 
use  them.  God  had  taken  their  hearts  from  them,  and 
they  fell  in  an  evil  snare.  They  bowed  down  under 
the  load  of  unrepented  sin,  and  submitted  their  necks 
to  the  conqueror.  Babylon,  Persepolis,  Greece,  Rome, 
and  Constantinople,  were  fuller  of  wealth  and  arms  on 
the  day  that  they  opened  their  gates  to  the  conqueror 
than  when  poor  and  few  in  numbers,  but  resolute  in 
spirit,  they  first  started  in  the  career  of  victory.  Had 
God  restored  to  them  the  mind  of  their  forefathers, 
they  would  soon  have  rolled  back  the  battle  from  their 
gates,  difficulties  and  dangers  which  were  bringing  on 
their  speedy  doom  would  have  disappeared  as  a  dream, 
and  with  united  hearts  and  hands  they  would  have  re- 
edified  to  more  than  their  former  height  their  temples 
and  their  bulwarks.  But  sin,  with  the  power  of  an 


13  Rev.  2:27. 


188  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


avenging  God,  is  the  ruin  of  every  people.  He  turns 
their  wisdom  into  folly,  and  their  strength  into 
weakness.”  14 

One  of  the  great  Christian  statesmen  of  half  a  cen¬ 
tury  ago,  when  speaking  on  the  subject  of  “  Christ  in 
History,”  and  referring  to  the  great  Rebellion  of  that 
time,  said :  “  Men  are  subordinate  agents ;  they  are  not 
sovereigns,  but  subjects :  they  are  overmastered  by 
events  that  are  too  great  for  them,  are  driven  before 
them  like  chaff  by  the  storm.  It  might  be  laid  down 
as  a  universal  rule,  I  think,  that  wars  never  turn  out  as 
those  who  originate  them,  either  design  or  anticipate. 
No  conqueror  ever  ends  where  he  expected.  Napoleon 
appeared  to  direct  the  storm  for  a  time  in  his  day,  but 
it  was  but  a  short  time :  he  was  very  soon  overpowered, 
and  of  all  the  wrecks  of  that  time  his  was  the  most 
complete.  In  the  present  page,  which  a  Divine  Provi¬ 
dence  is  unfolding  before  our  eyes,  how  utterly  insig¬ 
nificant  do  men  appear.  I  would  not  unduly  depreciate 
human  instrumentality ;  there  is  abundant  room  for  the 
display  of  human  wisdom  and  sagacity — nevertheless, 
is  there  any  one  so  blind  as  not  to  see  that  on  both 
sides  these  events  control  man,  and  not  men  events? 
What  is  the  explanation  of  all  this  ?  The  great  plan  is 
God’s,  men  are  His  subordinates.  His  counsel  shall 
stand,  and  He  will  do  all  His  pleasure.  ‘  There  is  no 
enchantment  against  Jacob,  neither  is  there  any  divina¬ 
tion  against  Israel/  The  success  of  men  is  dependent 
upon  their  plans  falling  in  with  the  divine  will.”  15 

There  is  not  necessarily  a  decadent  principle  within 
a  nation  which  determines  that  it  shall  grow  and  ex¬ 
pand  to  maturity  and  then,  like  a  man,  decline,  become 


14  Douglas’s  Prospects  of  Britain,  pp.  16,  17. 

15  Life  and  Works  of  J.  R.  W.  Sloane,  p.  432. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  189 


weak  and  die.  There  is  no  nation  that  has  existed,  in 
its  present  form,  more  than  a  thousand  years.  The 
usual  length  of  the  life  of  nations  is  much  less.  There 
are  trees  now  standing,  sufficiently  hoary  with  age,  that 
they  might  record  the  rise  and  overthrow  of  nations 
in  every  part  of  the  world.  Yet  we  do  not  affirm  that 
these  trees  may  never  grow  old  and  decay.  The  indi¬ 
viduals  within  a  nation  may  change,  increase  in  num¬ 
bers,  develop  in  intellect,  in  resources,  and  in  purity  of 
heart.  The  nation  may  grow  stronger  with  every  gen¬ 
eration.  But  as  a  matter  of  history,  after  a  certain 
amount  of  development,  there  has  come  laxity  of  relig¬ 
ion,  morals,  and  contentment :  following  which  there  is 
certain  to  be  a  gradual  or  sudden  decline.  The  nation 
which  has  remained  in  right  relationship  with  God  has 
not  yet  been  found,  and  ignoring  the  greatest  source 
of  national  strength,  they  have,  like  Israel,  leaned  upon 
a  broken  reed. 

Spain  at  one  time  had  the  opportunity,  by  reason  of 
her  wealth  and  vast  territory,  of  becoming  one  of  the 
greatest,  if  not  the  greatest,  power  in  Europe  and 
America.  But  Spain  was  oppressive,  deceitful  and 
godless,  and  God  broke  her  Armada  upon  the  rocks 
and  rent  her  territory  from  her  cruel  grasp. 

Russia,  with  her  millions  of  citizens,  her  vast  and 
fertile  plains,  extending  almost  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  might  be  a  world  power  which  could  take 
her  stand  and  make  the  allied  forces  of  the  nations 
tremble.  But  because  of  her  materialism,  godlessness 
and  ignorance,  her  government  today  is  more  of  a  ter¬ 
ror  to  its  own  people  than  to  the  world  outside.  With 
godliness  outlawed,  the  Bible  trampled  under  foot,  edu¬ 
cation  condemned,  virtue  disowned,  persecution  ram¬ 
pant,  property  unsafe,  and  her  homes  rent  asunder: 


190  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


Russia  stands  like  a  helpless  beggar,  a  byword  before 
the  civilized  world.  Would  that  she  might  have  heard 
and  heeded  the  voice  of  the  statesman  quoted  above, 
when  he  said :  “  Infidel  communism — and  communism 
is  the  logical  consequent  of  all  theories  of  government 
which  do  not  hold  the  State  to  be  of  divine  origin — 
can  create  a  mob  frantic  as  the  victim  of  delirium  in  its 
struggles  against  lawful  authority;  but  Christian  mo¬ 
rality  alone  can  create  and  preserve  a  great,  free,  and 
enlightened  nation.”  16 

Germany,  less  than  a  decade  ago,  was  ready  to,  and 
did,  shake  her  mailed  fist  in  the  face  of  the  civilized 
world.  Her  onslaught  was  so  fierce  that  men  feared 
that  civilization  might  collapse  before  her.  It  took  the 
combined  armies  of  the  greatest  nations  of  the  world 
to  drive  her  back  within  her  borders  and  force  her  to 
disarm.  Today  she  stands  throttled  by  one  of  the 
smaller  nations  of  the  world.  She  stands  as  one  of  the 
most  striking  examples  of  modern,  if  not  of  all  history, 
of  a  nation  which,  having  every  opportunity  of  enlight¬ 
enment,  turned  to  materialism,  forsook  God,  and  was 
forsaken  of  Him.  Today,  in  influence,  in  wealth,  in 
territory,  and  in  power  of  combat  or  resistance,  she  is 
but  the  shadow  of  her  former  self.  In  place  of  being  a 
center  of  influence  and  education,  as  she  formerly  was, 
she  is  the  scorn  of  the  world. 

It  is  well  for  us  to  consider  earnestly  with  Kipling; 

“  If  drunk  with  sight  of  power,  we  loose 
Wild  tongues  that  have  not  Thee  in  awe, 

Such  boastings  as  the  Gentiles  use, 

Or  lesser  breeds  without  the  Law — 

Lord  God  of  hosts,  be  with  us  yet. 

Lest  we  forget — lest  we  forget ! 


16  Life  and  Work  of  J.  R.  W.  Sloane,  p.  269. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  191 


“  For  heathen  heart  that  puts  her  trust 
In  reeking  tube  and  iron  shard, 

All  valiant  dust  that  builds  on  dust, 

And  guarding,  calls  not  Thee  to  guard, 

For  frantic  boast  and  foolish  word — 

Thy  mercy  on  Thy  people,  Lord !  ” 

— Recessional. 

History  cries  with  a  voice  that  increases  in  volume 
as  it  echoes  down  the  ages,  that  all  the  strength  of 
every  nation  is  derived  from,  and  centers  in,  God. 

THAT  GOD  IS  THE  STRENGTH  OE  THE  NATIONS  IS  A 
PLAIN  TEACHING  OE  CHRISTIAN  POLITICAL 

PHILOSOPHY 

Job  was  in  advance  of  some  of  the  philosophers  of 
today.  Political  science  has  been  developed  in  a  man¬ 
ner  that  Job  never  dreamed  of :  and  yet  Job  reasoned 
more  correctly  than  many  of  those  who  have  made  a 
life  study  of  this  science.  It  is  one  of  the  remarkable 
things  about  the  divinely  guided  philosophers  of  an¬ 
cient  days,  that  their  principles  were  sound,  and 
whenever  men  deviate  from  those  principles  they  are 
moving  backward  rather  than  forward.  The  political 
philosopher  never  gets  beyond  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible.  God,  the  author  of  the  Bible,  knew  the  best 
philosophy  for  the  nations,  long  before  men  began  to 
discuss  these  principles.  We  talk  about  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  Egyptian  art,  and  the  tomb  of  Tutankhamen, 
which  is  being  unearthed  today,  is  revealing  the  devel¬ 
opment  in  that  day,  as  never  before.  But  the  Hebrews 
had  advanced  in  the  science  of  political  philosophy  until 
they  are  still  our  standard  today.  And  the  heart  of  all 
that  philosophy,  Job  was  able  to  sum  up  in  one  sen¬ 
tence,  and  hand  it  down  to  us  in  the  words  of  our  text. 


192  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


Of  course  there  are  many  who  deny  this  doctrine. 
But  their  denial  does  not  change  the  facts.  There  was 
no  physician  in  Europe  over  forty  years  of  age,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Harvey,  who  accepted  his  view  of  the  circu¬ 
lation  of  the  blood.  But  their  denial  did  not  disprove 
the  scientific  fact.  That  there  are  some  who  teach, 
write,  and  speak  in  the  field  of  political  science,  who 
deny  that  the  nation  is  morally  accountable  to  God,  or 
that  it  has  anything  to  do  with  God,  does  not  change 
the  facts.  We  have  already  laid  a  basis  for  this  fact 
in  Scripture  and  history,  and  it  is  helpful  and  encour¬ 
aging  to  know,  that  there  are  many  of  the  best  thinkers 
of  modern  times,  who  have  made  a  scientific  demon¬ 
stration  of  this  great  truth  in  their  own  chosen  field 
of  political  philosophy. 

It  was  a  sad  day  for  Germany  when  her  philosophers 
repudiated  the  principle  that  the  nation  was  morally 
accountable  to  God.  The  blame  for  leading  Germany 
up  to  the  precipice  over  which  she  leaped  in  the  summer 
of  nineteen  hundred  and  fourteen,  is  frequently  placed 
upon  Nietzsche,  because  he  gave  expression  to  a  phil¬ 
osophy,  which,  when  accepted,  made  the  transition 
from  the  creed  to  the  krieg  of  Prussia,  a  perfectly 
natural  one.  When  we  read  such  statements  as  he 
made  in  Zarathustra :  “  Ye  shall  love  peace  as  a  means 
to  new  wars,  and  the  short  peace  better  than  the  long. 
— Ye  say  a  good  cause  will  hallow  even  war?  I  say 
unto  you  a  good  war  halloweth  every  cause,”  we  are 
shocked.  And  in  “  The  Will  to  Power  ” :  “  Such  men 
as  Napoleon  must  always  return  and  always  settle  our 
belief  in  the  self-glory  of  the  individual  afresh. — Man 
is  a  combination  of  the  beast  and  the  superbeast;  higher 
man  a  combination  of  the  monster  and  the  superman; 
these  opposites  belong  to  each  other.”  At  such  mon- 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  193 


strous  assertions  we  stand  aghast.  But  if  we  examine 
a  little  more  closely  it  is  evident  that  we  cannot  attach 
all  the  blame  to  Nietzsche,  for  he  is  not  an  accident  in 
the  evolution  of  modern  Germany.  The  destructive 
religious  critics  must  share,  and  perhaps  bear,  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  the  false  philosophical  theories  which 
have  been  so  widely  condemned.  A  book  which  has 
had  a  great  influence  upon  the  religious  life  of  Ger¬ 
many,  we  are  told,  is  “  Das  Leben  Jesu,”  by  Strauss. 
He  was  more  Jewish  than  Christian,  and  held  that 
Jesus  of  the  Gospels  was  a  mythical  character.  Strauss 
has  had  a  steady  line  of  admirers  and  followers. 
Deussen,  the  student  companion  of  Nietzsche,  says, 
that  the  latter  was  fascinated  with  Strauss’s  “  Leben 
Jesu,”  that  he  devoured  it,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
fully  aware  of  the  significance  of  its  teachings. 
Nietzsche  asserted  the  logic  of  it  in  this  way:  “The 
thing  has  a  very  serious  consequence,  when  you  give 
up  Christ  you  must  at  the  same  instant  give  up  God.” 
He  gave  up  Christianity,  and  he  hurled  his  anathemas 
against  the  Lord  of  glory.  He  said :  “  I  call  Christian¬ 
ity  the  one  great  curse,  the  one  great  intrinsic  deprav¬ 
ity,  the  one  great  instinct  for  revenge,  for  which  no 
expedient  is  sufficiently  poisonous,  secret,  subterranean, 
mean — I  call  it  the  one  immortal  blemish  of  mankind. 
That  which  defies  me,  that  which  makes  me  stand  out 
from  the  rest  of  humanity  is  the  fact  that  I  have  un¬ 
masked  Christian  Morality.”  Such  is  the  logic  of  anti- 
Christian  philosophy.  He  who  renounces  Christ  denies 
God,  and  he  who  repudiates  God  rushes  headlong 
toward  the  abyss,  dragging  a  train  of  satellites  with 
him.  When  a  nation  accepts  a  philosophy  which  denies 
God,  it,  at  that  moment,  signs  its  death  warrant,  and 
assures  the  world  of  another  illustration  of  the  truth 


194  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


expressed  many  centuries  ago  by  tbe  Psalmist :  “  The 
wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that 
forget  God.”  The  destruction  may  not  be  so  violent, 
but  it  is  just  as  certain,  as  that  of  Germany. 

We  are  thankful  that  we  can  point  to  Christian  lead¬ 
ers  in  political  science  who  have  not  led  us  in  a  suicidal 
course,  but  who  have  recognized  the  moral  personality 
of  the  nation,  and  its  responsibility  to  Almighty  God. 
It  will  be  well  when  every  nation  lends  a  listening  and 
sympathetic  ear  to  such  principles  of  philosophy.  John 
Milton  said,  “  A  commonwealth  ought  to  be  but  as  one 
huge  Christian  personage,  one  mighty  growth  and 
stature  of  an  honest  man,  as  big  and  compact  in  virtue 
as  in  body.”  Edmund  Burke,  when  speaking  of  the 
moral  relations  and  duties  of  the  state,  said  of  the 
British  nation :  they  “  think  themselves  bound,  not  only 
as  individuals  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  heart,  or  as  con¬ 
gregated  in  that  personal  capacity,  to  renew  the  mem¬ 
ory  of  their  high  origin  and  cast;  but  also  in  their 
corporate  character  to  perform  their  national  homage 
to  the  Institutor  and  Protector  of  civil  society.” 17 
The  Hon.  W m.  E.  Gladstone  said  concerning  the  state : 
“  It  is  moral,  and  not  merely  economical,  inasmuch  as 
its  laws  and  institutions,  and  acts  done  under  them,  are 
intimately  connected  with  the  formation  of  our  moral 
habits — that  which  we  are  individually  we  have  come 
to  be,  in  a  very  considerable  degree,  through  and  by 
means  of  that  which  we  are  nationally.”  18  Benjamin 
Franklin  made  a  lengthy  argument  in  the  Constitu¬ 
tional  Convention,  on  this  subject,  the  substance  of 
which  is :  “I  have  lived,  Sir,  a  long  time,  and  the 
longer  I  live,  the  more  convincing  proofs  I  see  of  this 

17  Reflections  on  the  Revolution  in  France,  pp.  183,  185. 

18  The  State  in  Its  Relation  with  the  Church,  Vol.  I,  p.  86. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  195 

truth — that  God  governs  in  the  affairs  of  men.”  19 
Phillimore,  in  his  first  volume  on  International  Law, 
said :  “  Moral  persons  are  governed  partly  by  divine 
law,  which  includes  natural  law;  partly  by  positive  in¬ 
stituted  human  law,  which  includes  written  law  and 
unwritten  law  or  custom.  States  are  reciprocally 
recognized  as  moral  persons.”  20  Elisha  Mulford,  in 
“  The  Nation,”  said :  “  The  nation  is  a  moral  person¬ 
ality.”  21  Dr.  David  McAllister  said,  in  his  book, 
“  The  History  and  Principles  of  Christian  Civil  Gov¬ 
ernment  ” :  “  The  nation,  or  the  state,  in  the  sense  of 
that  word  in  international  law,  is  a  moral  agent,  or  a 
being  with  true  moral  character  and  accountability.” 
The  object  of  his  book  is  to  prove  this  fact,  which  is 
so  often  overlooked.  One  of  the  greatest  addresses  of 
Dr.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane  is  entitled :  “  The  moral  character 
of  the  nation.”  In  it  he  says :  “  The  nation  is  of  God, 
is  a  creature  of  moral  law,  and  subject  to  the  divine 
government;  change  the  names,  and  the  burden  of 
Tyre,  of  Edom,  and  of  Ammon,  may  be  written  of  any 
nation  that  follows  in  the  same  path  of  wickedness; 
phenomena  are  transient,  but  principles  are  eternal.”  22 
In  his  address  on  “  The  three  pillars  of  a  republic,”  he 
says :  “  A  nation  is  a  moral  person ;  has,  or  ought  to 
have,  a  conscience ;  sustains  relations  to  the  immutable 
and  eternal;  is  a  plan  of  the  divine  mind;  lies  directly 
under  the  eye  of  God,  and  is  accountable  to  him.”  23 
Theodore  Roosevelt  said,  in  Oxford,  in  1910:  “  I  hold 
that  the  laws  of  morality  which  should  govern  indi¬ 
viduals  in  their  dealings  one  with  the  other  are  just  as 
binding  concerning  nations  in  their  dealings  one  with 

19  Franklin’s  Works,  Sparks’  Edition,  Vol.  V,  p.  153. 

20  P.  15.  2i  P>  19>  22  Life  and  Work,  p-  282. 

23  Fife  and  Work,  p.  237. 


196  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


the  other.”  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  a  Fast  proclamation 
which  he  issued  in  1863,  said :  “  It  is  the  duty  of  na¬ 
tions  as  well  as  men  to  own  their  dependence  upon  the 
overruling  power  of  God,  to  confess  their  sins  and 
transgressions  in  humble  sorrow  *  *  *  those  nations 
only  are  blessed  whose  God  is  the  Lord  *  *  *  nations, 
like  individuals,  are  subjected  to  punishments  and  chas¬ 
tisements  in  this  world.”  Woodrow  Wilson  said,  in  an 
address  to  liberty  loan  workers,  Apr.  2,  1918:  “We 
are  coming  to  the  place  where  we  shall  more  and  more 
recognize  that  nations  must  have  the  same  standards 
as  individuals.”  President  Harding  said,  in  his  open¬ 
ing  speech  to  the  conference  for  the  limitation  of  arma¬ 
ments  :  “  Inherent  rights  are  of  God,  and  the  tragedies 
of  the  world  originate  in  their  attempted  denial.” 

We  have  quoted  from  a  number  of  specialists  in  the 
sphere  of  political  philosophy,  both  of  the  past  and 
present,  in  order  to  emphasize  this  important  truth 
which  is  so  frequently  overlooked  in  our  so-called  prac¬ 
tical  age:  namely,  that  the  nation  has  a  moral  person¬ 
ality,  is  therefore  responsible  to  God,  and  is  subject  to 
rewards  or  punishments  by  Him.  Her  strength  rests 
wholly  in  Him :  “  Except  the  Lord  build  the  house, 
they  labour  in  vain  that  build  it ;  except  the  Lord  keep 
the  city,  the  watchman  waketh  but  in  vain.”  24 

THAT  GOD  IS  TITE  STRENGTH  OE  THE  NATIONS  IS  THE 
NECESSARY  CONCLUSION  OE  EAITH  IN  AN 
OMNIPOTENT  GOD 

Job,  in  this  connection,  is  speaking  of  the  omnipo¬ 
tent  power  of  God,  “  In  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of 
every  living  thing,  and  the  breath  of  all  mankind.”  25 
If  God  is  omnipotent  He  must  control  the  larger,  as 


24  ps.  127:1.  25  V.  10. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  197 


well  as  the  smaller  units,  of  life  and  society.  God 
could  not  be  omnipotent  if  He  did  not  control  nations. 
Men  who  profess  Christianity  readily  admit  that  God 
is  omnipotent.  They  have,  however,  many  lame  theo¬ 
ries  in  the  application  of  this  principle.  They  halt  when 
they  are  faced  with  difficult  or  unpopular  problems. 
For  instance,  in  the  case  of  Jonah:  they  readily  admit 
that  God  could  control  a  worm ;  that  He  could  control 
a  gourd,  and  that  He  could  even  control  a  wind;  but 
when  it  comes  to  exercising  control  over  a  whale,  and 
particularly  over  nations,  they  are  confounded.  Such 
men  are  not  as  willing  to  recognize  the  omnipotent 
power  of  God  as  was  the  heathen  Nebuchadnezzar 
when  he  declared :  “  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are 
reputed  as  nothing.  He  doeth  according  to  his  will, 
and  none  can  stay  his  hand.”  They  have  not  had  the 
same  experience  as  did  Nebuchadnezzar  before  he  came 
to  that  conclusion.  Perhaps  if  they  had,  they  would 
not  be  so  incredulous  about  God’s  power.  Though 
Assyria  was  the  greatest  empire  of  Isaiah’s  day,  God 
told  him  that  it  was  only  a  rod  in  the  hand  of  the 
Almighty.26  The  spokesman  of  the  Assyrian  king,  the 
cruel,  ironical  Rabshakeh,  boasted  of  the  sweeping 
overthrow  of  the  gods  and  the  kings  of  other  nations, 
and  demanded  the  immediate  capitulation  of  Hezekiah 
and  his  army,  as  he  pointed  to  the  fires  burning  in 
devastated  Judah  and  stood  before  the  wall  of  the  last 
fortress  still  held  by  the  Hebrew  people :  “  Behold  thou 
hast  heard  what  the  kings  of  Assyria  have  done  to  all 
lands,  by  destroying  them  utterly;  and  shalt  thou  be 
delivered?  Have  the  gods  of  the  nations  delivered 
them  which  my  fathers  have  destroyed,  as  Gozan,  and 
Haran,  and  Rezeph,  and  the  children  of  Eden  which 


26  10:5. 


198  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


were  in  Telassar  ?  Where  is  the  king  of  Hamath,  and 
the  king  of  Arphad,  and  the  king  of  the  city  of  Sep- 
harvaim,  Hena,  and  Ivah  ?  ”  44  Who  are  they  among 

all  the  gods  of  these  lands  that  they  have  delivered  their 
land  out  of  my  hand,  that  the  Lord  should  deliver 
Jerusalem  out  of  my  hand?”  27  By  the  omnipotent 
arm  of  God  the  flower  of  the  Assyrian  army  fell  in 
one  night,  and  the  broken  remnant,  in  disorganized 
flight,  hastened  back  to  Ninevah.  They  were  not  per¬ 
mitted  to  come  into  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  nor  shoot 
an  arrow  there,  nor  come  before  it  with  shields,  nor 
cast  a  bank  against  it.  When  God  was  speaking  of 
punishing  the  nation  of  Assyria  He  said :  44  Shall  the 
axe  boast  itself  against  him  that  heweth  therewith?  or 
shall  the  saw  magnify  itself  against  him  that  shaketh 
it  ?  ”  28  44  Who  hath  directed  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord, 

or  being  his  counsellor  hath  taught  him?  With  whom 
took  he  counsel,  and  who  instructed  him,  and  taught 
him  in  the  path  of  judgment,  and  taught  him  knowl¬ 
edge,  and  shewed  to  him  the  way  of  understanding? 
Behold  the  nations  are  as  the  drop  of  a  bucket,  and  are 
counted  as  the  small  dust  of  a  balance :  behold  he  taketh 
up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing.-— All  the  nations  be¬ 
fore  him  are  as  nothing;  and  they  are  counted  to  him 
less  than  nothing,  and  vanity.”  29  When  a  nation  is 
blessed,  it  is  God  who  blesses  it ;  when  it  is  cursed,  it  is 
by  His  will.  44  The  curse  causeless  shall  not  come.” 
44  Shall  there  be  evil  in  the  city  and  the  Lord  hath  not 
done  it?  ” 

44  Why  do  the  nations  rage,  and  the  peoples  meditate 
a  vain  thing?  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves, 
and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together,  against  Jehovah, 
and  against  his  anointed,  saying,  Let  us  break  their 


27  Isa.  37 : 11-13 ;  36 :  20.  28  Isa.  10 : 15.  29  isa.  40 : 13-15,  17. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  199 


bonds  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us. 
He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  will  laugh :  the  Lord  will 
have  them  in  derision.”  30  Can  the  nations  resist  or 
outwit  the  omnipotent  God?  Their  efforts  do  not  dis¬ 
turb  Him,  He  only  laughs  in  derision.  You  cannot 
tame  a  volcano,  bind  the  ocean  with  a  chain,  or  lash 
her  waves  into  submission.  Turn  away,  then,  from  the 
tactics  of  Xerxes.  As  it  was  foretold  that  the  strong¬ 
hold  of  Tyre  and  the  cities  and  nations  of  western 
Asia  were  to  fall,  one  by  one,  before  the  devouring 
hoardes  of  Alexander  the  Great;  it  was  also  foretold 
that  a  greater  than  Alexander  was  to  come ;  a  King 
who  though  He  appeared  in  humble  form,  “  Riding 
upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass,”  was 
to  be  so  powerful  that  He  could  speak  peace  unto  the 
nations,  for,  “  His  dominion  shall  be  from  sea  even  to 
sea,  and  from  the  river  even  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth.”  31 

James  T.  Fields,  in  his  vivid,  poetic  picture  of  a 
storm  at  sea,  when  the  vessel  was  shattered,  the  bravest 
were  trembling,  and  the  hungry  sea  threatened  instant 
death,  says : 

“  As  thus  we  sat  in  darkness, 

Each  one  busy  with  his  prayers, 

*  We  are  lost !  ’  the  captain  shouted 

As  he  staggered  down  the  stairs. 

“  But  his  little  daughter  whispered. 

As  she  took  his  icy  hand, 

*  Isn’t  God  upon  the  ocean 

Just  the  same  as  on  the  land?’ 

“  Then  we  kissed  the  little  maiden, 

And  we  spake  in  better  cheer, 

And  we  anchored  safe  in  harbour 
When  the  morn  was  shining  clear/' 

30  Ps.  2:1-4,  R.  V.  si  Zech.  9. 


200  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes,  the  omnipotent  God  has 
perfected  praise.  The  God  whom  the  little  girl 
trusted,  Who  ruled  sea  and  land,  is  He  Who  rules  the 
turbulent  nations  today,  and  can  say :  “  Peace  be  still.” 

THAT  GOD  IS  THE  STRENGTH  OE  NATIONS  IS  AN  INDIS¬ 
PUTABLE  REASON  WHY  THE  NATIONS  SHOULD 
SUBMIT  TO  HIS  RULE  IN  HUMBLE  LOYALTY 

A  great  vessel  sails  out  on  an  ocean  voyage.  The 
captain  has  orders  from  the  owner  of  the  vessel  which 
direct  him  toward  a  certain  port,  and  furnish  general 
rules  for  the  crew.  Those  rules  do  not  cover  action  in 
routine  matters,  nor  do  they  provide  for  emergencies. 
Nothing  is  said  about  religious  services  on  board.  No 
provision  is  made  for  worship  or  prayer  until  the  storm 
arises.  Then  the  captain  and  the  crew  fall  on  their 
knees,  they  entreat  God  for  protection,  they  make 
ready  to  lower  the  life  boats,  they  prepare  for  the 
worst.  What  would  you  think  of  the  man  who  makes 
no  approach  to  God  except  when  the  storm  grows 
threatening  and  he  fears  for  his  life?  This  illustra¬ 
tion  may  be  applied  to  the  ship  of  state.  The  orders 
to  the  captain  may  be  compared  to  the  constitutional 
law  which  the  people  of  the  nation  give  to  the  rulers. 
It  does  not  pretend  to  cover  all  details  or  to  provide  for 
every  emergency.  What  if  it  makes  no  reference  to 
God?  What  does  God  think  of  the  nation  which  only 
makes  an  appeal  to  Him  through  her  rulers  in  an 
emergency  when  they  think  the  ship  of  state  is  in 
danger  of  being  broken  and  ruined  by  pestilence, 
famine  or  war?  Is  God  likely  to  hear  a  nation  which 
ignores  and  rejects  Him  in  peace,  though  she  does  cry 
out  and  stretch  forth  her  hands  in  war  ?  “  When  ye 

spread  forth  your  hands,  I  will  hide  mine  eyes  from 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  201 


you ;  yea,  when  ye  make  many  prayers  I  will  not  hear : 
your  hands  are  full  of  blood.”  32  If  a  nation  expects 
to  be  heard  in  an  emergency  it  ought  to  approach  God, 
it  ought  to  acknowledge  and  reverence  Him  in  time  of 
peace.  An  appeal  to  God  ought  to  be  made  in  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  land,  realizing  that  He  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  every  good  gift  and  for  every  blessing, 
in  peace  or  in  war.  God  often  does  hear,  and  relieve, 
men  and  nations,  though  they  have  dishonoured  Him 
before  the  hour  of  trouble.  But  it  is  only  because  of 
His  great  mercy,  and  if  they  act  in  that  way  they  can¬ 
not  be  sure  of  His  protection. 

Dr.  S.  H.  Kellogg,  concerning  the  national  recog¬ 
nition  of  God,  speaks  thus :  “  The  history  which 
records  the  overthrow  of  those  old  nations  and  em¬ 
pires  does  so,  even  professedly,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  calling  the  attention  of  men  of  all  ages  to  this  prin¬ 
ciple,  that  God  deals  with  all  nations  as  under  obliga¬ 
tion  to  recognize  Himself  as  King  of  nations,  and 
submit  in  all  things  to  His  authority. — How  awfully 
plain,  again,  is  the  language  of  the  second  Psalm  on 
this  same  subject,  where  it  is  precisely  this  national 
repudiation  of  the  supreme  authority  of  God  and  of 
His  Christ,  so  increasingly  common  in  our  day,  which 
is  named  as  the  ground  of  the  derisive  judgment  of 
God,  and  is  made  the  occasion  of  exhorting  all  nations, 
not  merely  to  belief  in  God,  but  also  to  the  obedient 
recognition  of  His  only-begotten  Son,  the  Messiah,  as 
the  only  possible  means  of  escaping  the  future  kindling 
of  His  wrath.”  33 

Of  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  Dr.  George  Adam  Smith  says,  these  verses 
“  form  the  most  universal  and  *  missionary  ’  of  all 


32  Isa.  1:15.  33  Expositor's  Bible,  Lev.,  pp.  126-7. 


202  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 

Isaiah’s  prophecies.”  34  The  prophet  foretells  a  day 
when  there  shall  be  an  altar  in  the  midst  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  a  pillar  at  the  border  thereof  to  the  Lord. 
He  also  looks  forward  to  a  day  when  the  highway 
from  Egypt  to  Assyria  shall  be  traversed  freely,  and 
the  religion  of  Israel,  or  the  true  religion  shall  be  the 
blessing  in  the  midst  of  the  land.  That  is,  the  great 
powers  of  the  world,  formerly  contending  nations, 
shall  throw  down  all  barriers  to  intercourse ;  there  shall 
be  peace,  and  the  prevailing  religion  shall  be  the  wor¬ 
ship  of  the  true  God.  This  is  a  beautiful  picture  of 
the  nations  in  the  future,  and  of  an  ideal  for  today. 
The  altar  in  the  midst  of  the  land  is  indispensable: 
namely,  religion  in  the  heart,  the  home  and  the  church. 
The  citizens  of  a  Christian  nation  should  be  taught 
from  youth,  that  religion  is  the  heart  of  the  nation, 
and  everything  is  barred  out  of  it  that  derogates  Chris¬ 
tian  morals  and  practices;  that  all  immigrants  upon 
arrival,  and  in  preparation  for  naturalization,  should 
be  taught  that  the  Christian  religion  is  the  key  pillar 
of  the  nation,  and  that  no  one  is  welcomed  who  pur¬ 
poses  its  demolition.  The  pillar  at  the  border  of  the 
land  to  the  Eord  is  also  indispensable.  The  one  is  not 
sufficient  without  the  other.  God’s  plan  is  not  com¬ 
plete  with  either  alone.  Religion  in  the  heart  is  good, 
but  it  cannot  thrive  without  the  pillar  at  the  border  of 
the  land;  in  other  words,  personal  religion,  family  re¬ 
ligion,  and  public  worship,  in  order  to  thrive,  need  the 
national  recognition  of  religion  and  protection  of  it. 
The  Sabbath  must  be  protected,  the  home  must  be  pro¬ 
tected  against  immorality  and  divorce,  the  name  of  God 
must  be  honoured  and  blasphemers  punished,  and  the 
traffic  in  injurious  drugs  and  drinks  must  be  prohib- 

34  Expositor’s  Bible,  Isaiah,  Vol.  I,  p.  275. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  203 


ited.  The  Word  of  God  must  be  held  up  before  the 
youth,  by  the  nation,  as  the  basis  of  all  morals,  and 
the  guide  for  political  action.  The  pillar  at  the  border, 
the  recognition  of  Christ  and  the  protection  of  the 
Christian  religion  is  indispensable  to  the  life  and  wel¬ 
fare  of  a  Christian  nation. 

God  repeats  and  reiterates  this  great  truth  until  it  is 
emblazoned  upon  the  Word  from  beginning  to  end.  It 
is  as  clear  as  any  other  fact  of  divine  revelation,  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  nations  to  acknowledge  the  God  of 
nations,  and  submit  to  His  rule  in  humble  loyalty. 
“  Be  wise  now,  therefore,  O  ye  kings ;  be  instructed, 
ye  judges  of  the  earth.  Serve  the  Ford  with  fear,  and 
rejoice  with  trembling.  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry, 
and  ye  perish  from  the  way,  when  his  wrath  is  kindled 
but  a  little.  Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their  trust  in 
him.”  35  “  All  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him;  all 

nations  shall  serve  him.”  36  “  By  me  kings  reign,  and 
princes  decree  justice.  By  me  princes  rule,  and  nobles, 
even  all  the  judges  of  the  earth.”  37  “  I  said,  Behold 

me,  behold  me,  unto  a  nation  that  was  not  called  by  my 
name.”  38  That  this  passage  speaks  of  Gentile  nations 
is  evident  from  Paul’s  interpretation  of  it.39  “  I  saw 

in  the  night  visions,  and  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of 
man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the 
Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before 
him.  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory, 
and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages, 
should  serve  him:  and  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting 
dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom 
that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed.”  40  “  Christ — is  the 
blessed  and  only  potentate,  the  King  of  kings,  and 


35  Ps.  2:10-12. 

36  ps.  72:11. 


37Prov.  8:15,  16. 
38  Isa.  65:1. 


39  Rom.  10:20. 

40  Dan.  7:13,  14. 


204  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


Lord  of  lords/’ 41  “  Now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put 
under  him.  But  we  see  Jesus — crowned  with  glory 
and  honour.”  42  “  The  seventh  angel  sounded;  and 

there  were  great  voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The  king¬ 
doms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord,  and  of  his  Christ;  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever 
and  ever.”  43  The  prophets  and  the  apostles  testify 
with  one  accord  to  the  fact  that  Jesus  reigns,  and  that 
te  he  must  reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his 
feet.”  44  The  sane  thing,  therefore,  is  for  the  nations 
to  submit  to  him  now.  Julian  the  Apostate  tried  to 
reject  Christ — did  reject  Him  during  his  lifetime.  At 
last  when  he  was  wounded  in  battle,  and  was  unable  to 
pull  out  the  javelin  which  had  struck  him  a  fatal  blow; 
he  is  said  to  have  taken  a  handful  of  the  blood  which 
was  flowing  from  his  side,  and,  flinging  it  toward  the 
sky,  to  have  cried  out :  “  O  Galilean  Thou  hast  con¬ 
quered  !  Thou  hast  conquered !  ” 

As  I  take  up  my  telescope  I  turn  it  toward  the  past, 
and  look  back  through  thirty-five  centuries  of  history. 
I  see  two  armies  struggling  upon  the  field  of  battle; 
they  are  unequal  in  numbers ;  the  smaller  army  is  made 
up  of  clean  stalwart  men;  the  larger  of  fierce  heathen 
warriors.  As  I  look,  I  see  the  larger  army  advancing 
and  the  smaller  driven  back — my  heart  begins  to  fail 
me,  for  I  think  that  I  can  see  upon  the  banner  of  the 
leader  of  the  smaller  force,  the  sign :  “  Marching  under 
orders  of  the  Captain  of  the  Lord  of  hosts.”  Then  as 
I  watch  I  see  the  tide  turn  and  the  smaller  army  ad¬ 
vances,  cutting  down  the  larger  host  and  creating  con¬ 
fusion  in  their  ranks.  But  again  they  rally  and  drive 
back  the  smaller  force.  I  begin  to  scan  the  plain  and 


41  1  Tim.  6 :  15. 

42  Heb.  2  :  8,  9. 


43  Rev.  11:15. 

44  1  Cor.  15:25. 


GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  205 


the  hills  to  see  if  there  are  any  recruits  coming  to 
strengthen  the  weakening  battalion  upon  the  field.  As 
I  look  up  toward  yonder  mount,  I  see  three  men.  Is 
it  the  general  accompanied  by  his  aides?  No!  the 
central  figure  is  an  old  man  with  his  hands  stretched 
toward  the  sky.  As  his  voice  grows  weak  and  his 
hands  fall  by  his  sides,  those  fierce  heathen  hoardes  in 
the  valley  move  slowly  forward:  but  the  two  men  by 
his  side  join  him  in  his  appeal  to  God,  and  raise  his 
hands  toward  the  sky  again.  No  sooner  have  they 
done  so  than  the  small,  but  still  intact,  and  vigourous 
army,  takes  a  new  stand;  moves  rapidly  forward,  and 
drives  the  larger  host  in  confusion  and  dismay  from 
the  field.  It  is  a  magnificent  and  glorious  victory  for 
the  Lord’s  host.  As  I  turn  and  watch  the  three  come 
down  from  the  mount,  I  see  that  the  central  figure  is 
strong  and  vigourous,  though  an  aged  man,  and  as  I 
think  I  hear  him  sing  from  the  distance :  “  The  Lord 
is  a  man  of  war,  the  Lord  shall  reign  forever  and 
ever,”  I  conclude  that  it  is  he  who  led  Israel  through 
the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  I  rejoice  in  the  mighty 
faith  of  Moses  as  much  as  I  do  in  the  brave  charge 
of  Joshua  and  his  heroic  followers.  And  I  admire 
these  two  heroes  of  the  day,  as  together,  and  with¬ 
out  any  show  of  vanity,  they  build  an  altar  and  in¬ 
scribe  upon  it  these  long-remembered  words,  Jehovah- 
nissi,  The  Lord  is  my  banner.45  And  as  I  shorten  my 
telescope  inch  by  inch,  and  scrutinize  history,  century 
by  century,  I  see  the  same  lesson  emblazoned  upon 
its  pages  in  all  the  ages;  and  I  sing  again  with  the 
sweet  singer  of  Israel :  “  Blessed  is  that  nation  whose 
God  is  the  Lord,”  and  I  chant  with  the  wisest  man 
of  all  antiquity:  “  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor 


45  Ex.  17. 


206  GOD  THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


the  battle  to  the  strong,”  46  but  victory  belongeth  unto 
the  Lord. 

“  O  God,  we  have  heard  and  our  fathers  have  told 
What  wonders  Thou  didst  in  the  great  days  of  old; 
Where  nations  were  crushed  and  cast  out  by  Thy  hand. 
Thou  plantedst  our  fathers  to  dwell  in  the  land. 

“  They  gained  not  the  land  by  the  edge  of  the  sword; 
Their  own  arm  to  them  could  no  safety  afford; 

But  Thy  right  hand  saved,  and  the  light  of  Thy  face, 
Because  of  Thy  favour,  Thy  wonderful  grace. 

“  Command,  and  Thy  word  shall  deliverance  bring, 

O  God,  unto  Jacob,  for  Thou  art  my  King. 

Through  Thee  we  will  surely  put  down  all  our  foes, 
Through  Thy  name  will  trample  on  them  that  oppose. 

"  No  trust  will  I  place  in  my  sword  or  my  bow, 

’Tis  Thou  who  has  saved  us  from  hater  and  foe. 

In  God  we  will  boast  who  hast  put  them  to  shame. 

And  all  the  day  long  will  give  praise  to  Thy  name.”  47 

May  God  grant  that  the  day  may  be  hastened  when 
all  the  nations  shall  understand  the  record  revealed 
from  heaven,  and  written  upon  earth,  and  when,  under¬ 
standing  they  shall  heed  the  divine  call,  and  bow  in 
humble  submission  to  the  King  of  kings!  Then  shall 
be  ushered  in  the  glorious  day  when  they  shall  beat 
their  swords  into  plowshares,  when  all  the  earth  shall 
live  at  peace  with  man  and  with  God. 

“  All  ends  of  earth,  rememb’ring  Him, 

Shall  turn,  repenting,  to  the  Lord; 

The  kindreds  of  the  nations  then 
To  Him  their  homage  shall  accord; 

Because  the  Lord  the  kingdom  owns, 

And  rules  above  all  earthly  thrones.”  48 


46  Eccl.  9:11.  47  Ps.  44  :l-9.  48  Ps.  22 : 27,  28. 


XV 


THE  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF 
IMMORTALITY 

Job  14:14;  19:25-27 

THERE  are  those  who  maintain,  in  recent  years, 
that  belief  in  the  future  life  is  not  a  matter  of 
faith,  but  of  scientific  demonstration.  They  in¬ 
sist,  that  from  an  investigation  of  the  phenomena 
which  they  have  accumulated,  it  may  be  shown  that  the 
reality  of  the  future  life  is  a  matter  of  knowledge, 
rather  than  of  faith.  The  question  of  Job :  “  If  a  man 
die  shall  he  live  again,”  is  taken  as  the  title  of  a  book 
by  Edward  Clodd,  in  which  he  discusses  this  theory, 
known  as  Spiritualism.  He  reviews  the  various  argu¬ 
ments  such  as  those  promulgated  by  Sir  Oliver  Lodge, 
and  the  purported  communications  from  his  deceased 
son,  Raymond.  He  examines  at  length,  the  work  of 
some  of  the  well  known,  and  most  highly  reputed  me¬ 
diums.  He  records  the  findings  of  leading  scientists 
who  have  investigated  these  phenomena.  After  having 
done  so  he  records  as  his  conclusion,  that:  “To  Job’s 
question,  ‘If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again?’  science 
can  answer  neither  ‘  yes  ’  nor  ‘  no  ’ ;  all  that  can  be  said 
is  that  the  evidence  supplied  by  comparative  psychology 
does  not  support  the  belief  in  a  future  life.  It  leaves 
it  unsolved.  *  *  *  Spiritualism  is  the  old  animism 
‘  writ  large.’  ”  He  terms  some  of  it  “  nauseating 
drivel.” 

Professor  Henry  E.  Armstrong  endorsed  the  con- 

207 


208  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY 


elusions  of  Mr.  Clodd  in  a  postscript  to  his  book.  Re¬ 
viewing  the  investigations  of  Henry  Sidgwick  he  says : 
“  He  had  been  President  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research — was  in  close  touch  with  the  spiritualists  of 
his  day,  including  Sir  Oliver  Lodge;  he  took  part  in 
their  so-called  investigations  on  numerous  occasions. 
But  he  was  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ‘  confidence  trick  * 
and  although,  apparently,  he  was  willing,  if  not  anx¬ 
ious,  to  be  convinced,  he  was  never  able  to  believe  that 
the  manifestations  were  otherwise  than  illusory.” 

A  physician  of  my  acquaintance  used  to  tell  of  an 
experiment  performed  by  one  of  his  instructors  in 
medical  college,  who  weighed  a  body  before  and  after 
death,  for  the  purpose  of  proving  to  the  students  that 
the  soul  had  no  weight,  and  therefore  no  existence. 
But  neither  pseudo-science  nor  real  science  can  prove 
or  disprove  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Science  may 
corroborate  this  truth,  but  it  cannot  prove  it  by  demon¬ 
stration.  It  is  probable  that  Solomon  intends  to  teach 
us,  that  the  indestructibility  of  matter,1  is  a  corrobora¬ 
tion  of  the  truth  that  God  has  set  forth  to  man,  that 
He  has  “  set  eternity  in  his  heart.”  2  It  points  to  the 
fact  that  we  learn  in  the  Word  of  God,  that  the 
body  shall  rise  again.  But  the  only  satisfactory  proof 
which  we  have  is  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  and  it  is 
no  fantastic  reasoning  like  that  which  the  spiritualist 
builds  upon. 

Immortality  is  proven  in  the  resurrection  and  ascen¬ 
sion  of  Christ  as  the  first  fruits  from  the  dead.  No 
one  can  successfully  deny  it.  No  proof  can  surpass  it, 
as  it  was  borne  witness  to  by  many  men,  and  is  re¬ 
corded  by  accurate  and  honest  historians.  The  raising 
from  the  dead  of  men,  women  and  children  by  the 


1  Eccl.  3 : 14,  IS.  2  Eccl.  3:11,  Am.  Rev. 


PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY  209 


prophets,  by  Christ,  and  by  the  Apostles,  is  a  proof  of 
the  continuity  of  the  soul  and  the  power  of  God  to 
raise  from  the  dead.  The  many  promises  of  God,  and 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  proofs  which  are  as 
strong  as  the  integrity  of  God  that  the  dead  still  live 
and  shall  rise  again. 

There  are,  however,  quite  a  number  of  worthy  men, 
Bible  students,  who  have  been  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was  not  a 
distinct  part  of  the  faith  of  the  patriarchs.  They  be¬ 
lieve  that  this  wonderful  doctrine  developed  slowly  as 
the  race  developed  and  the  book  of  revelation  grew. 
In  fact  it  is  said  by  many  of  them,  that  the  hope  of  im¬ 
mortality  was  never  very  clear  or  strong  in  the  human 
breast  until  after  our  Lord  came  into  the  world,  until 
He  died  and  arose  again. 

It  is  evident  from  our  former  study  of  the  Book  of 
Job  that  it  is  as  old  or  older  than  any  of  the  other 
books  of  the  Bible:  that  Job  could  not  have  lived  and 
worshipped  as  he  did  after  the  Levitical  law  was  given. 
Consequently  he  was  at  least  as  old  as  Moses.  Let  us 
confront  the  question  fairly,  did  he  believe  in  the  im¬ 
mortality  of  the  soul?  Did  he  believe  that  his  Re¬ 
deemer  lived  and  that  he  would  continue  to  live  after 
death?  Could  it  have  been  possible  in  that  early  day 
that  one  could  know  that  his  soul  should  live  on  in 
eternity  and  that  it  should  be  reunited  with  the  resur¬ 
rection  body? 

Was  the  question:  “If  a  man  die  shall  he  live?” 
(again,  is  supplied  in  our  translation),  an  open  con¬ 
jecture  in  the  mind  of  Job?  One  who  reads  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  the  verse,  receives  the  impression  that  Job 
rested  in  the  assurance,  that  if  he  should  wait  patiently, 
his  change  would  come.  He  knew  that  there  would  be 


210  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY 


a  change,  but  he  believed  that  after  that  change  he 
would  continue  to  live.  It  is  unfair  to  Job,  to  separate 
this  query  from  his  exultant  cry  of  faith,  as  found  in 
the  nineteenth  chapter,  in  which  he  asserts  without  any 
equivocation,  not  only,  that  he  knew  that  his  Redeemer 
lived:  but  that  after  his  body  should  be  destroyed, 
without  his  flesh  he  should  see  God.3  During  the  time 
which  intervened  between  the  utterance  of  these  two 
statements,  Job  had  engaged  in  a  discussion  with  two 
of  his  friends,  but  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  he 
had  changed  his  mind  concerning  God  or  the  future 
life.  Job’s  faith  was  not  newly  found  in  the  nine¬ 
teenth  chapter,  it  was  simply  more  forcibly  expressed. 
There  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  Job  knew, 
knew  clearly,  believed  firmly,  that  his  soul  would  not 
die,  that  there  would  be  a  resurrection  and  a  judgment, 
and  that  all  shall  stand  before  the  Great  Judge;  some 

3  In  order  to  interpret  verse  26  correctly,  it  is  first  necessary  to 
translate  it  accurately.  The  word,  worms,  is  supplied  by  the 
translators  of  the  Authorized  version,  and  there  is  no  semblance 
of  it  in  the  original.  They  possibly  derived  the  idea  from  Chap. 
7:5.  It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  determine  the  agent  which 
would  destroy  the  body,  the  fact  is  apparent.  The  phrase,  trans¬ 
lated,  “yet  in  my  flesh,”  is  one  word  in  the  Hebrew.  This  word, 
mibbesari — with  the  conjunctive  particle,  which  in  this  case  adds 
emphasis  to  the  prepositional  phrase — is  literally  translated,  “  yet 
from  my  flesh.”  It  does  not  mean,  in  my  flesh,  which  would  have 
been  expressed  by  the  preposition,  be.  Delitzsch  and  Lange  agree 
in  translating  the  last  clause  of  this  verse :  “  and  free  from  my 
flesh,  shall  I  behold  Eloah.”  The  American  Revision  translates 
it :  “  Then  without  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God.”  Most  critical  com¬ 
mentators  agree  in  some  such  translation.  The  Authorized  trans¬ 
lation  “  in  my  flesh  ”  is  intenable,  since  the  preposition  min  never 
means  in,  but  from  or  from  out  of.  The  thought  contained  in 
19:25-27  is  believed  by  the  author  to  be  correctly  expressed  in 
the  following  translation :  “  For  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth, 
and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth:  and 
though  after  my  skin  (death)  this  body  shall  be  destroyed,  yet 
without  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God :  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself, 
and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  a  stranger;  though  my  reins 
are  consumed  within  me.” 


PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY  211 


as  saved  to  dwell  with  Him,  and  some  forever  cast  out 
from  before  Him. 

Would  that  the  students  of  the  Book  of  Job  would 
read  it  “  with  their  eyes,  not  with  their  prejudices,” 
for  there  is  abundance  of  proof  to  show  that  Job  be¬ 
lieved  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul :  that  he  believed 
in  the  resurrection,  in  the  judgment,  and  in  the 
Redeemer. 

JOB  KNEW  THE  DANGER  OF  SIN  UNFORGIVEN 

At  the  very  beginning  of  the  book,  Job  gives  evi¬ 
dence  of  his  belief  in  immortality  when  he  offered 
sacrifices.  He  was  careful  to  offer  regularly.  He  was 
more  than  usually  particular  about  it  when  he  knew 
that  his  sons  were  in  the  way  of  temptation.  The  fact 
that  he  offered  bloody  sacrifices  showed  that  he  had  a 
higher  form  of  faith  than  that  of  Cain.  He  had 
rather  the  faith  of  Abel,  who  looked  forward  to  the 
promise  of  the  coming  of  the  Saviour,  who  was  to 
shed  His  blood  for  sinful  men.4 

Job  knew  that  there  was  to  be  a  day  of  reckoning. 
He  knew  that  no  sinner  could  expect  to  dwell  forever 
with  God.  He  wanted  to  come  to  God  in  the  right  way 
that  his  sins  might  be  covered  over  by  the  blood  and 
that  he  might  not  be  rejected  by  God  forever.  When 
his  wife  urged  him  to  curse  God  and  die,  he  rebuked 
her,  he  said  that  she  spoke  as  one  of  the  foolish  women. 
The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God,  and 
consequently  no  life  everlasting,  and  no  judgment. 
Job  would  not  harbour  such  a  horrible  thought  for  a 
moment.  He  wished  that  he  had  never  been  born. 
But  having  been  born,  he  knew  that  there  was  in  his 
body  a  soul,  and  he  never  yielded  to  the  temptation  to 


4  Heb.  11:13-16. 


212  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY 


separate  himself  from  God.  He  knew  that  separation 
in  time  meant  separation  in  eternity. 

job  believed  in  the  resurrection 

When  Job  desired  that  he  might  be  hidden  in  the 
grave,  and  asked  the  question,  “  If  a  man  die  shall  he 
live?”  he  replied  at  once:  “All  the  days  of  my  ap¬ 
pointed  time  will  I  wait,  till  my  change  come.  Thou 
shalt  call  and  I  will  answer  thee.”  He  was  assured 
that  if  he  should  die  it  would  not  be  spiritual  death, 
but  that  he  would  continue  to  live  on.  He  would  wait 
until  the  change  should  come  when  the  soul  should  be 
separated  from  the  body.  When  the  end  of  time 
should  come  and  the  archangel  should  call  to  the  dead, 
he  would  answer.  The  grave  was  not  the  end :  it  was 
only  a  change,  and  from  that  state  the  dead  would  be 
called  forth.5 

When,  out  of  the  depths  of  his  suffering  he  gave 
utterance  to  that  wonderful  passage  in  the  nineteenth 
chapter  concerning  immortality  he  said  that  he  knew 
that  his  Redeemer  lived  and  that  he  should  stand  at 
the  latter  day  upon  the  earth :  then  he  would  see  Him 
for  himself  and  not  as  a  stranger.  It  would  be  a 
genuine  resurrection  when  all  would  be  as  real  as  it 
ever  was  in  the  former  days  upon  the  earth.  He  could 
be  with  his  Saviour  then,  as  truly  as  he  was  with 
others  in  this  life.  It  would  be  no  mere  dream  or 
vision.  Then  he  would  see  Him  face  to  face. 

job  believed  in  the  judgment 

“  That  ye  may  know  there  is  a  judgment,”  were  his 
words  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  chapter.  “  The 
wicked  is  reserved  to  the  day  of  destruction,  they  shall 

”»T4: 14,  15. 


PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY  213 


be  brought  forth  to  the  day  of  wrath.”  6  This  is  the 
declaration  of  Job  when  answering  the  question,  why 
do  the  wicked  prosper,  grow  old  and  mighty  in  power  ? 
They  have  their  portion  in  this  life  but  destruction 
awaits  them  at  the  day  of  judgment.  They  are  re¬ 
served  until  the  day  of  wrath. 

Again,  Job  cries  out  in  response  to  his  critics :  “For 
what  is  the  hope  of  the  hypocrite,  though  he  hath 
gained,  when  God  taketh  away  his  soul?”7  The 
hypocrite  may  seem  to  gain  much;  but  what  of  it 
when  he  stands  in  judgment  before  God,  when  He 
has  taken  his  soul?  He  is  like  the  man  of  whom  our 
Lord  spoke  in  the  parable :  he  might  build  many 
barns,  he  might  think  that  he  could  say  to  his  soul, 
“  Soul,  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be  merry  ” ;  but 
what  would  he  do,  where  would  he  flee  when  God 
would  come  and  say,  “  This  night  thy  soul  shall  be 
required  of  thee  ”  ? 

JOB  BEUEVED  in  CHRIST 

Job  believed  that  the  Saviour  who  was  to  come  was 
the  Son  of  God.  He  believed  that  He  was  then  the 
anointed  Son,  that  He  lived,  and  that  he  would  one  day 
meet  Him  face  to  face.8  “If  in  this  life  only  we  have 
hope  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable.”  Job  was 
miserable;  but  it  was  because  of  physical  suffering. 
He  was  not  of  all  men  most  miserable.  He  was  not 
ready  to  despair  because  he  clung  to  his  Redeemer. 

Some  commentators  start  with  the  wrong  premise, 
naturally  they  reach  the  wrong  conclusion.  They 
begin  with  the  premise  that  the  patriarchs  in  that  early 
day  did  not  know  anything  about  immortality,  conse¬ 
quently,  whatever  Job  may  have  seemed  to  say  about 


6  21:  30.  7  27:8.  8  19: 25-27. 


214  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY 


it,  they  interpret  away,  they  say  that  he  could  not  have 
known  that  his  soul  lived  forever.  They  forget  that 
Abel,  Enoch,  Noah  and  Abraham  had  faith,  that  they 
died  not  having  received  the  promises;  but  they  were 
looking  for  a  better  resurrection,  they  were  looking  for 
a  heavenly  country,  they  knew  that  God  had  prepared 
for  them  a  city.9 

Suppose  that  others  of  the  heathen  about  Job  in  that 
day  did  not  have  any  idea  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul:  neither  do  they  have  in  this  twentieth  century 
long  after  Christ  has  come  into  the  world.  But  God 
could  reveal  it  to  Job,  He  did  reveal  it,  and  when  the 
language  plainly  teaches  this  great  fact  why  shall  we 
deny  that  it  was  possible  for  God  to  reveal  it  to  Job 
many  centuries  ago,  or  that  it  was  possible  for  a  man 
of  that  day  to  understand  it  ? 

Yes,  long  centuries  ago;  from  that  pitiable  looking, 
greatly  abused,  much  neglected  mortal  on  the  ash  heap, 
from  out  of  the  depths  of  the  most  profound  misery, 
from  those  lips  of  suffering  and  sorrow,  there  sounded 
out  a  note  as  clear  as  that  ever  revealed  to,  or  uttered 
by,  man:  “  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that 
he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth :  and 
though  after  my  skin,  this  body  is  destroyed,  yet 
without  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God :  whom  I  shall  see  for 
myself  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold  and  not  a  stranger.” 
The  Apostle  Paul  never  uttered  a  clearer  statement  on 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  than  that.  He  said :  “  I 
know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  he 
is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
against  that  day.”  These  words  have  often  been 
quoted  by  dying  saints.  It  is  an  expression  of  their 
assurance  of  immortality,  of  a  life  that  has  been  com- 


9  Heb.  11:13-16. 


PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY  215 


mitted  to  Christ.  But  it  is  no  clearer  or  more  definite 
than  the  words  of  Job  uttered  about  two  thousand 
years  before  that  time. 

Job  was  not  afraid  of  the  test  of  time  giving  evi¬ 
dence  of  misplaced  hopes  or  of  insecure  faith.  He 
would  fling  his  testimony  out  to  the  world,  he  would 
preserve  it  through  the  ages  if  he  could  have  it  en¬ 
graved  upon  the  imperishable  rocks  of  the  mountain 
and  filled  with  lead  to  defy  the  ravages  of  the  elements. 
“  Oh  that  my  words  were  now  written !  Oh  that  they 
were  inscribed  in  a  book!  That  with  an  iron  pen  and 
lead  they  were  graven  in  the  rock  forever.”  His  was 
a  record  of  trust  in  God  for  time  and  eternity  and  he 
had  no  fear  to  set  it  down  for  the  observance  of  future 
generations.  If  he  had  been  afraid  that  he  was  mis¬ 
taken  he  would  not  have  wanted  his  words  to  be  writ¬ 
ten  at  all ;  but  he  knew  that  they  would  furnish  proof 
of  the  power  of  God  to  sustain,  they  would  serve,  both 
to  vindicate  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  generations  to 
come,  and  they  would  serve  to  strengthen  some  weak 
mortal  who  was  hanging  over  the  brink  of  eternity. 

What  mattered  it  what  was  left  of  his  mortal  clay? 
What  difference  though  after  his  death  his  body  should 
be  destroyed?  What  though  worms  should  pollute  his 
body?  The  word,  worms,  is  supplied  by  the  trans¬ 
lators  of  the  authorized  version.10  It  is  evident,  how¬ 
ever,  that  they  gave  the  correct  idea  when  they  supplied 
the  word.  It  is  horrible  to  think  of,  but  no  worse  than 
the  condition  of  Job  at  that  very  moment,  for  the 
worms  had  not  waited  until  his  death  to  attack  his 
body,  they  were  then  eating  his  corrupting  flesh.  He 
says,  “  My  flesh  is  clothed  with  worms  and  clods  of 
dust,  my  skin  is  broken  and  become  loathsome.” 11 


10 19 : 26.  H7:5. 


216  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY 


As  he  lay  there  exposed  to  the  flies  and  vermin,  with 
nothing  but  dust  and  ashes  for  his  bed,  nothing  but 
sackcloth  for  his  covering,  the  worms  were  attacking 
his  boils  and  ulcerated  sores.  His  condition  was  fear¬ 
fully  loathsome. 

But  Job’s  hope  of  immortal  life  did  not  rest  upon 
the  purity  of  his  skin  or  the  preservation  of  his  flesh. 
The  flesh  only  furnished  the  tabernacle  for  his  soul, 
and  the  sooner  the  soul  was  released  the  more  he  would 
rejoice,  because  then  he  would  be  free  from  pain  and 
filth  and  scorn,  and  suffering.  He  gave  a  clear  and 
lasting  testimony  long  before  the  Apostle  wrote,  that 
“  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.” 

Over  across  the  Red  Sea,  west  of  where  Job  lived, 
and  where  his  caravans  had  often  gone,  there  stood  the 
great  pyramids  of  Egypt,  the  tombs  of  the  kings.  Be¬ 
side  them  there  stood  the  great  image  of  the  Sphynx, 
a  massive  monument,  the  supposed  representation  of 
the  Redeemer  to  come.  Every  Egyptian  hoped  that  his 
body  might  be  preserved  until  the  coming  of  that  re¬ 
deemer.  They  thought  that  if  they  could  not  preserve 
their  bodies  until  He  came  there  was  no  hope.  The 
Egyptians  spent  fortunes  in  building  great  tombs  to 
enclose  their  bodies  within  rocky  walls  where  they 
would  not  be  exposed  to  the  elements,  or  of  the  devas¬ 
tating  enemy  tribes.  They  studied  the  art  of  preserv¬ 
ing  the  body  by  embalming  it  so  that  it  would  not 
decay  for  thousands  of  years.  The  kings  who  could 
best  afford  the  great  monuments  had  their  bodies  laid 
away  in  these  massive  tombs,  which  were  like  an  arti¬ 
ficial  mountain  covered  with  alabaster.  The  only 
opening  was  hidden  and  sealed  so  that  for  thousands 
of  years  no  one  found  an  entrance  into  those  ancient 
tombs,  and  there  are  no  doubt  many  caverns  in  them 


PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY  217 


which  have  not  yet  been  found.  They  did  it  all  that 
they  might  await,  in  a  state  of  preservation  and  repose, 
the  coming  of  the  one  whom  they  thought  was  the  re¬ 
deemer,  and  who,  it  was  supposed,  would  call  their 
bodies  to  life  again. 

But  Job  said  to  his  friends,  and  to  all  who  may  have 
fathomed  his  teaching;  it  is  all  folly,  you  may  build 
costly  tombs  and  spend  great  sums  in  embalming  your 
bodies  and  in  laying  them  to  rest;  but  our  flesh  does 
not  need  to  be  preserved,  in  fact  it  is  not  God’s  plan 
that  it  shall  be.  It  is  natural  that  our  bodies  shall 
become  corrupt  and  decay,  they  were  dust  and  they 
shall  return  to  dust.  But  it  is  not  in  our  body,  it  is 
without  our  present  flesh  that  we  shall  see  God. 

But,  says  some  superficial  reader,  whose  eye  has 
caught  a  verse  a  little  farther  on  in  the  book,12  “  look 
a  little  farther  on  in  the  speech  of  Job  and  you  will 
see  his  faith  waver,  you  will  hear  him  cry  out,  4  Oh 
that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him!’”  Tell  me, 
what  saint  of  God  is  there,  who,  when  his  body  is 
racked  with  pain,  when  he  is  full  of  tossings  all  night 
long,  when  he  is  deserted  of  his  friends  and  of  his 
wife,  when  even  the  little  children  who  are  usually  so 
sympathetic  ridicule  him,  when  he  is  wasted  with  dis¬ 
ease  and  his  mind  is  weakened,13  when  he  is  able  to 
control  himself  only  with  the  greatest  effort,  when  he 
is  set  about  by  Satan,  who  is  seeking  to  drag  down  his 
soul — who  is  there  under  such  circumstances  who  is 
not  apt  to  lose  sight  of  his  Lord  for  the  moment? 
Bunyan  was  picturing  the  average  believer  when  he 
portrayed  Christian  passing  through  the  river  of  death, 
sinking  under  the  water  occasionally  until  all  became 
dark  for  a  time.  But  it  was  only  momentarily  that 


1223:3.  1327:2. 


218  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY 


Job  lost  sight  of  God.  He  did  find  Him,  he  did  have 
absolute  assurance  that  his  Redeemer  lives  and  that  he 
shall  see  Him  face  to  face.  His  faith  never  gave  way 
to  despair.  With  almost  the  next  breath  he  added: 
“  He  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take ;  when  he  hath  tried 
me  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold.”  14 

The  story  of  Job  is  a  very  sad  one.  Yet  we  ought  to 
be  glad  that  God  wrote  it  in  a  book  and  that  it  will 
stand  as  though  written  on  the  rock  forever.  There 
is  no  story  that  has  been  told  more  frequently  at  the 
bedside  of  the  suffering  and  the  sorrowful.  There  is 
no  story  that  has  applied  more  commonly  to  those  who 
were  down  in  the  depths.  There  is  no  story,  unless  it 
is  that  of  the  suffering  of  our  Lord,  that  has  surpassed 
it  in  helping  to  bring  comfort  and  courage  to  the  weary 
and  sorrowful.  Over  and  over  the  words  of  Job  have 
been  repeated  at  the  side  of  the  departed,  and  at  the 
grave,  to  bring  comfort  to  those  who  have  been  left 
behind :  “  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth  and  that  he 
shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth  *  *  *  mine 
eyes  shall  see  him  and  not  a  stranger.”  These  words  are 
so  clear,  forceful,  and  consoling,  that  they  have  become 
a  part  of  the  ritual  of  almost  every  sect  as  they  have 
paid  the  last  tender  rites  to  loved  ones  who  have  been 
placed  beneath  the  sod.  Nothing  clearer  or  more  con¬ 
cise  has  ever  been  uttered  by  any  of  the  saints  or  has 
been  revealed  to  man  in  all  history,  than  these  precious 
words  of  the  oldest  of  the  patriarchs  which  are  quoted 
in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Job. 

“  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  God,  we  are  of 
all  men  most  miserable.”  It  was  that  man  at  the 
earliest  stages  of  saintly  history  might  be  relieved  of 
the  darkness  and  uncertainty  concerning  the  future, 


14  23:10. 


PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY  219 


that  their  hearts  might  be  relieved  of  the  greatest 
source  of  misery,  that  God  revealed  to  men  this 
great  truth  that  the  soul  is  immortal.  Therefore  our 
future  hope  does  not  depend,  as  the  ancient  Egyptians 
thought,  on  the  preservation  of  the  body,  but  on  faith 
in  the  Redeemer. 

We  have  ground  for  the  profoundest  thanksgiving, 
as  well  as  the  greatest  joy,  that  not  only  have  we  the 
assurance  of  the  aged  patriarch  and  saint  of  God,  that 
the  Redeemer  liveth  and  that  He  will  stand  at  the  last 
day  upon  the  earth ;  but  we  have  the  living  record  of 
His  coming,  and  we  have  His  own  assurance  that  He 
will  come  again :  that  at  His  coming  the  dead  shall 
arise,  those  who  love  Him  shall  awake  to  everlasting 
joy,  joy  in  His  presence  and  at  his  right  hand  for 
evermore. 

The  question  confronts  each  one  of  us,  do  we  know 
that  our  Redeemer  liveth?  Have  we  the  assurance 
through  faith,  that  when  we  die  we  shall  live  on  and 
on  with  Christ  through  all  eternity? 

“  I  say  to  thee  do  thou  repeat 
To  the  first  man  thou  mayest  meet 
In  lane,  highway  or  open  street — 

“  That  doubt  and  trouble,  fear  and  pain 
And  anguish,  all  are  shadows  vain, 

That  death  itself  shall  not  remain ; 

“  That  weary  deserts  we  may  tread, 

A  weary  labyrinth  may  thread, 

Through  dark  ways  underground  be  led; 

“Yet  if  we  will  one  Guide  obey, 

The  dreariest  path,  the  darkest  way, 

Shall  issue  out  in  heavenly  day; 


220  PATRIARCHAL  VIEW  OF  IMMORTALITY 


“  And  we  on  divers  shores  now  cast, 

Shall  meet,  our  perilous  voyage  past. 

And  in  our  Father’s  house  at  last.” 

In  like  manner  sang  the  Psalmist  in  words  inspired 

“  But  as  for  me,  I  Thine  own  face 
In  righteousness  will  see; 

And  with  Thy  likeness  when  I  wake 
I  satisfied  shall  be.” 


XVI 

WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 
Job  16:2 


AMONG  the  outstanding  general  topics  which 
appeal  to  one  as  he  studies  the  Book  of  Job 
is  the  one  before  us  today.  The  men  who 
heard  of  Job’s  sorrows  and  of  his  pain  came  for  the 
purpose  of  comforting  him.  They  were  his  friends. 
They  had  sympathy  for  him.  They  were  willing  to  put 
themselves  to  a  considerable  expense  and  inconvenience 
in  order  that  they  might  meet  with  Job.  They  were 
ready  to  devote  a  large  portion  of  time  that  they  might 
sit  by  his  side,  help  to  lighten  his  burden,  and  drive 
away  his  sorrow.  Our  text  indicates  that  however 
good  their  intentions  may  have  been,  they  failed  in 
their  effort.  In  place  of  making  Job’s  condition  easier 
and  his  burden  lighter,  they  added  to  his  anguish  and 
enlarged  his  burden.  Not  one  of  these  three  men  in¬ 
terpreted  Job’s  condition  or  his  state  of  mind  correctly. 
After  they  had  sat  by  his  side  for  days,  and  had  taken 
up  his  condition  as  they  saw  it,  he  was  driven  almost 
frantic  and  exclaimed :  “  Miserable  comforters  are 
ye  all.” 

We  have  hesitated  to  take  up  this  subject  because 
we  feel  our  own  weakness  in  the  same  line.  It  is  not 
an  easy  task  to  be  an  able  comforter.  To  feel  with 
friends  in  their  sorrows  and  bereavements,  to  deal 
kindly  and  tactfully,  discerningly  and  courageously, 
lovingly  and  fearlessly,  is  a  very  difficult  thing  to  do. 

221 


222  WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 

Wisdom  in  comforters  requires  a  number  of  things. 

THE  PERSONAE  PRESENCE  OF  FRIENDS  IS  NEEDED 

This  sounds  like  an  axiom,  its  truth  is  so  plain,  and 
yet  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion,  and  a  great  differ¬ 
ence  of  practice,  in  this  regard. 

Absent  treatment  may  satisfy  a  Christian  Scientist 
— he  never  gets  sick:  he  never  suffers  pain — but  the 
ordinary  individual  of  un warped  intellect  does  get  sick, 
does  suffer  pain,  and  does  long  for  the  fellowship  of 
kind-hearted  friends  during  his  hours  of  suffering. 
Even  Jesus,  with  all  His  nearness  to  God  in  prayer, 
and  with  all  His  purity  of  heart,  longed  for  the  ten¬ 
der  sympathy  of  human  friends  in  His  hours  of 
agony  in  the  garden.  When  He  returned  and  found 
the  disciples,  whom  He  had  left  to  pray,  sleeping, 
He  exclaimed :  “  Could  you  not  watch  with  me  one 
hour  ?  ” 

It  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  custom  to  leave  all 
the  attention  of  the  sick  to  some  one  who  is  trained  to 
nurse,  and  the  friends  pay  for  all  the  help  and  sym¬ 
pathy  which  is  received.  This  may  serve  to  give  the 
body  more  scientific  attention,  but  it  is  a  very  cold  and 
heartless  method  of  looking  after  the  mental  and  spir¬ 
itual  comforts  of  our  friends.  In  the  hour  of  suffer¬ 
ing  when  the  familiar  voice  and  the  loving  look  mean 
most,  then  the  paid  stranger  affords  all  the  care  and 
the  sympathy.  It  is  true  that  there  is  a  certain  amount 
of  sympathy  which  can  be  shown  when  a  friend  is  not 
actually  present :  flowers  may  be  given,  letters  may  be 
written,  and  various  tokens  of  friendship  and  sym¬ 
pathy  may  be  sent;  but  none  of  these  will  take  the 
place  of  personal  calls  and  personal  attention  which 
loving  hands  may,  and  should,  bestow. 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


223 


EXPERIENCE  IS  NEEDED 

When  we  have  passed  through  sorrow  we  can  un¬ 
derstand  and  sympathize — feel  with — as  we  cannot 
otherwise.  Bunyan’s  picture  of  Christian,  which  has 
so  aptly  fitted  many  others  passing  through  this  world 
of  sin,  was  largely  a  picture  of  his  own  life.  He  could 
write  so  aptly  and  fully,  because  he  had  experienced 
the  joys  and  sorrows  and  temptations  of  which  he 
speaks  in  allegory. 

When  my  brother  was  sick,  at  the  time  we  were  at¬ 
tending  college,  there  was  a  family  which  lived  next 
door  to  the  house  in  which  we  roomed,  the  members 
of  which  were  in  a  measure  sympathetic.  The  woman 
asked  about  how  my  brother  was  getting  along  oc¬ 
casionally,  and  once  or  twice  sent  him  a  little  remem¬ 
brance,  but  she  said :  “  I  never  go  into  a  sick  room,  I 
cannot  stand  to  look  upon  a  person  who  is  sick.”  I 
thought,  what  will  you  do  if  ever  you  are  seriously  ill 
and  no  one  will  enter  your  sick  room  ?  What  will  you 
do  if  no  one  can  bear  with  you  or  look  upon  you  when 
you  are  suffering? 

Before  I  had  entered  the  ministry,  one  summer 
when  recovering  from  a  long  siege  of  illness,  my 
pastor  remarked :  “  It  may  be  a  part  of  your  training 
upon  which  you  will  look  back  as  one  of  the  most 
important  periods  of  your  life.  We  must  suffer  pain 
in  order  to  know  how  to  sympathize  with  others  who 
suffer.  We  must  suffer  bereavement  in  order  to  know 
how  to  sympathize  with  others  who  are  bereaved.” 
And  he  added :  “  When  I  was  a  young  man  and  was 
about  to  complete  my  training  for  the  ministry,  I  was 
not  then  at  all  fitted  for  the  work  in  the  pastorate.  I 
had  not  known  what  it  was  to  suffer  serious  illness.  I 


224 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


was  taken  with  a  very  severe  attack  of  pneumonia, 
and  for  a  time,  my  life  hung  in  the  balance.  I  did  not 
know  what  it  was  to  experience  serious  sorrow :  but  my 
mother  was  taken  ill  and  died.  If  I  had  not  had  these 
experiences  I  would  not  have  been  nearly  so  well  fitted 
to  sympathize  with  the  sick  and  sorrowing  as  I  am 
today.”  Those  of  us  who  have  passed  through  similar 
trials,  know  that  what  he  said  is  true  also  of  us.  We 
profit  by  experience. 

TACT  IS  NEEDED 

How  many  people  there  are  who  fail  in  this  par¬ 
ticular  when  they  try  to  sympathize  with  their  friends. 
A  returned  soldier  told  me  of  a  gun  crew  which  was 
stationed  in  the  lane  just  back  of  where  they  were  bil¬ 
leted.  These  men  were  operating  an  anti-aircraft  gun 
and  were  on  guard  at  night.  The  enemy  dropped  a 
bomb  which  fell  right  in  their  midst.  Some  were 
killed,  and  others  badly  torn  and  bleeding  came  run¬ 
ning  into  the  house  to  receive  aid.  One  soldier  looking 
at  these  torn,  bleeding  men  said :  “  Ah,  you  fellows  are 
no  good  anyhow.”  Few  are  so  abrupt  and  untactful 
as  that,  and  yet  there  are  many  who  act  and  speak  so 
that  it  hurts  the  person  who  is  ill,  though  it  may  not 
always  be  so  intended.  Prof.  R.  J.  George  used  to 
caution  his  students  in  regard  to  this  matter  when  he 
was  advising  them  concerning  the  proper  behaviour 
in  the  sick  room.  He  said :  “  The  afflicted  in  a  weak 
state  of  mind  often  suffers  torture  by  being  forced  to 
listen  to  the  recital  of  dismal  tales  of  disease  and  death 
similar  to  his  own  case.  Avoid  suggesting  to  the  pa¬ 
tient  blood-curdling  remedies  for  his  disorder.  I  knew 
a  case  of  blood-poisoning  where  the  weary  sufferer  was 
urged  to  apply  such  measures  as  the  following :  4  Cut 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


225 


open  a  live  chicken  and  apply  it  while  still  hot.’ 
*  Make  a  poultice  of  crushed  worms.’  ‘  Take  a  black 
cat  and  split  it  open  lengthwise  and  lay  the  poisoned 
arm  inside  of  it.’  That  the  patient  did  not  die  from 
listening  to  such  tragic  suggestions  in  her  extremely 
weak  and  nervous  state  was  probably  due  solely  to  the 
fact  that  her  time  had  not  come.”  And  he  sometimes 
added  very  tenderly :  “  That  happened  in  my  own 
home,  when  my  wife  seemed  to  be  at  the  point  of 
death.” 

Not  long  since  a  woman  related  to  me  some  of  the 
remedies  which  people  suggested  to  her  husband,  who 
had  been  ill  with  the  rheumatism.  She  said :  “  My,  the 
consoling  remedies  that  people  offer!  Many  people 
have  told  him  of  some  one  of  their  friends  who  had 
the  rheumatism  in  a  similar  manner  and  it  left  them 
helpless,  or  they  died  from  the  effects.”  She  added, 
“  Now  a  man  is  offering  to  cure  him  with  an  electric 
belt.  Every  other  kind  of  belt  had  failed  but  his.  He 
was  sure  that  his  would  help.” 

A  sick  person  is  especially  sensitive.  One  person 
will  come  into  the  room  who  speaks  with  a  loud  voice, 
and  laughs  in  a  boisterous  manner,  which  disturbs  the 
nerves  of  the  patient.  Another  will  come  in  with  a 
long  face  and  turn  away  quickly  and  go  out  with  a 
handkerchief  over  her  mouth.  Then  perhaps  there  are 
low  tones  and  whispers  in  the  other  room.  Such  people 
may  be  truly  sympathetic,  but  they  lack  tact,  they  make 
the  patient  feel  like  using  the  words  of  our  text : 
“  Miserable  comforters  are  ye  all.” 

There  are  others  who  stay  too  long.  Sometimes 
there  are  kind-hearted  friends  who  feel  that  they  can¬ 
not  call  often,  so  they  will  stay  a  long  while  when  they 
do  come.  Remember  that  when  one  is  seriously  ill  his 


226 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


nerves  are  weakened  and  he  cannot  endure  with  the 
same  degree  of  patience  that  he  could  when  well.  A 
conversation  which  he  might  welcome  when  he  is 
strong  is  often  very  wearying  and  nerve-racking  when 
he  is  weak. 

The  same  conditions  apply  in  case  of  bereavement. 
Sometimes  friends  feel  that  they  are  exercising  the 
part  of  a  friend  when  they  come  to  stay  a  long  time, 
following  bereavement.  In  fact  there  are  some  who 
feel  that  they  ought  either  to  stay  or  see  that  others 
stay  almost  continuously  under  such  circumstances.  If 
ever  the  patience  of  the  family  of  the  bereaved  is 
tested,  it  is  at  such  a  time.  It  is  a  splendid  thing  to 
show  sympathy  in  the  hour  of  bereavement,  but  if 
there  is  one  time  above  another  when  a  family  would 
like  to  have  the  quiet  and  seclusion  of  home  alone,  it  is 
at  such  an  hour. 


FAITH  IS  NEEDED 

Almost  every  affliction  is  a  trial  of  faith.  “  The 
trying  of  your  faith  worketh  patience.”  One  needs  to 
have  firm  faith  so  that  it  shall  not  be  shaken  by  any 
sufferer  who  lacks  faith,  or  who  is  of  a  doubting 
nature. 

A  case  like  this  came  under  my  observation.  There 
was  an  old  gentleman  who  was  suffering  from  mental 
and  physical  causes.  He  had  made  some  bad  financial 
deals,  and  the  money  representing  years  of  saving  was 
practically  all  tied  up,  with  little  probability  of  getting 
much  of  it  again.  His  older  son  was  reckless  and  a 
disappointment  to  him,  his  eyes  were  failing,  and  he 
thought  that  he  was  going  to  lose  his  sight.  He  was 
bitter  in  some  of  his  remarks  and  doubted  the  good¬ 
ness  of  God.  It  seemed  to  his  friends  that  if  he  had 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


227 


trained  his  older  son  as  he  was  then  training,  or  rather 
not  training,  his  younger  son,  that  he  had  no  right  to 
blame  providence  for  the  waywardness  of  his  boy :  but, 
like  Eli,  he  was  to  blame  himself.  And  with  reference 
to  the  turn  of  finance,  which  he  also  attributed  in  part 
to  an  unkind  providence,  it  seemed  to  others  that  rea¬ 
sonable  judgment  would  have  kept  him  out  of  the 
financial  entanglement  in  which  he  was  involved.  But 
there  he  was,  a  member,  yes,  an  officer,  in  the  church, 
doubting  the  kindness  of  God. 

Faith  is  the  solution,  and  a  great  deal  of  it  is  needed 
when  dealing  with  a  man  who  is  in  such  a  state  of 
doubt.  Genuine  faith  will  not  permit  one  to  be  unduly 
troubled  about,  either  physical,  or  financial,  reverses. 
It  will  lead  one  to  look  out  on  the  grass  which  withers 
in  a  few  days  and  say,  “If  God  can  clothe  the  grass 
He  can  clothe  me.”  It  will  lead  one  to  look  at  the 
birds  which  have  only  the  merest  shelter  for  their 
home,  but  which  sing  merrily  and  seem  altogether  free 
from  care,  and  sav :  “  Not  one  of  these  falls  without 
God’s  notice,  and  He  will  care  for  me.” 

COURAGE  IS  NEEDED 

A  god-fearing  man  must  deal  plainly.  A  great  deal 
of  the  present  camouflage  in  connection  with  sickness 
and  death,  about  God’s  salvation  for  all,  is  deception. 
When  an  unbeliever  is  preached  into  heaven,  wrong  is 
done.  The  comforter  may  share  the  blame  because  of 
lack  of  courage,  which  is  virtually,  dishonesty.  There 
are  far  too  many,  who,  when  acquaintances  are  ill,  or 
are  in  trouble,  are  ready  to  tell  all  the  neighbours  about 
what  they  think  is  the  fault  and  how  there  ought  to 
be  a  change  of  character  and  manners :  but  they  do 
not  have  the  courage  to  tell  the  one  who  is  immediately 


228 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


concerned,  who  first  of  all  should  be  the  one  spoken  to 
and  admonished. 

Job’s  friends  talked  plainly  with  him.  They  did  not 
lack  courage  so  much  as  they  lacked  knowledge.  They 
were  ignorantly  leading  in  the  wrong  direction.  The 
old  prophets  are  splendid  examples  of  men  who  exer¬ 
cised  courage  whether  in  case  of  personal,  family,  or 
national  trouble,  and  they  stand  in  marked  contrast 
with  many  of  the  time-serving  religious  leaders  who 
seem  to  prefer  dishonesty  to  faithfulness  under  simi¬ 
lar  circumstances  today. 

A  HIGH  REGARD  for  THE  SABBATH  IS  NEEDED 

Sometimes  when  one  member  of  a  family  is  ill,  all 
the  connection  allow  it  to  serve  as  an  excuse  for  a  big 
gathering,  and  often  a  big  time  as  well,  upon  the  Sab¬ 
bath.  They  perhaps  call  in  the  minister  to  conduct 
family  worship  for  them  in  the  evening,  and  thus  in  a 
certain  measure,  think  they  have  atoned  for  their  secu¬ 
lar  gathering  upon  the  Lord’s  Day. 

Sabbath  is  usually  visiting  day  in  the  hospitals,  and 
a  patient  is  at  the  mercy  of  visitors.  Sometimes 
friends  will  come  in  to  call  upon  a  godly  man,  who  is 
a  patient  in  the  hospital,  and  disturb  his  peace  of  mind 
to  a  great  extent,  because  they  think  and  talk  of 
nothing  except  the  most  worldly  things,  while  he  is 
trying  to  center  his  thoughts  about  God.  Some  hos¬ 
pitals  arrange  for  religious  services  for  convalescing 
patients,  and  it  often  affords  comfort  and  consolation 
for  them  such  as  cannot  well  be  expressed. 

Usually  Sabbath  calls  upon  a  godly  man  do  not  give 
him  relief,  but  only  serve  to  irritate  him,  because  he 
desires  to  give  the  day  over  to  private  meditation  and 
worship  since  he  cannot  engage  in  public  worship.  If 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


229 


he  is  an  earnest  Christian  he  wants  to  search  his  own 
heart  and  repent  of  his  sins,  therefore  light  conversa¬ 
tion,  such  as  is  often  engaged  in,  stands  in  the  way  of 
serious  thinking.  Then  there  is  a  knowledge  in  the 
patient’s  heart  that  he  is  dishonouring  the  Lord  in  dis¬ 
honouring  his  day,  and  he  feels  worse  rather  than  bet¬ 
ter.  Moreover,  people  who  call  on  the  Sabbath  do  not 
have  any  work  pressing,  and  they  often  stay  so  long 
that  they  weary  the  patient,  and  thus  harm  him  from 
the  physical  standpoint. 

Comforters  who  are  pious  and  wise  can  do  a  great 
deal  of  good  by  calling  upon  the  sick  in  hospitals  and 
elsewhere  upon  the  Sabbath,  as  they  offer  Christian 
consolation,  and  draw  their  patients  closer  to  God. 
But  men  of  that  character  will  usually  do  more  visiting 
upon  other  days  of  the  week  than  they  do  upon  the 
Sabbath,  and  they  will  not  speak  carelessly,  or  remain 
to  weary  a  patient  upon  the  Lord’s  Day. 

KNOWLEDGE  OP  THE  DIVINE  PLAN  IS  NEEDED 

Because  Job’s  comforters  did  not  have  such  knowl¬ 
edge  they  made  things  worse.  They  were  harsh  and 
untrue.  Eliphaz  accused  him  of  being  guilty  of  op¬ 
pression.  This  may  have  been  from  hear-say  as  he 
gathered  news  from  the  streets,  or  from  among  those 
who  had  turned  against  Job.  They  said  that  he  was 
a  great  sinner,  which  they  insisted  was  proven  by  his 
great  suffering.  We  know  that  he  was  not  as  great  a 
sinner  as  his  advisers.  When  comforters  guide  the 
sick  or  the  dying  in  the  wrong  direction  they  are  hast¬ 
ening  their  way  to  death  rather  than  life. 

An  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Bible  is  the  best 
equipment  for  a  wise  comforter.  The  Word  of  God 
is  replete  with  promises  and  precious  passages.  If  one 


230 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


is  familiar  with  them  he  will  find  that  they  give  his 
friends  who  are  ill  great  pleasure  and  comfort.  Prof. 
R.  J.  George,  when  speaking  of  the  precious  promises 
and  their  value  in  directing  the  dying  to  Christ,  said, 
that  even  when  the  dying  may  seem  unconscious,  it 
may  be  well  to  repeat  promises.  He  spoke  of  wit¬ 
nessing  the  departure  of  a  young  woman  who,  in  the 
early  part  of  her  sickness  had  greatly  feared  death, 
but  at  length  found  comfort  in  the  text :  “  When  thou 
passest  through  the  waters  I  will  be  with  thee,  and 
through  the  rivers  they  shall  not  overflow  thee.”  He 
added :  “  When  the  hour  of  her  dissolution  came,  I  was 
hastily  summoned  to  her  bedside.  As  I  entered  the 
room  all  seemed  to  be  over.  Her  eyes  were  closed. 
She  had  ceased  to  speak.  They  said  she  was  uncon¬ 
scious.  All  stood  about  her  weeping,  waiting  for  her 
breath  to  cease.  Stooping  near  her  pillow  I  repeated 
the  familiar  promise.  As  I  spoke  she  slowly  opened 
her  eyes  wide,  beaming  with  a  more  than  earthly  light, 
and  passed  them  from  one  to  another  of  her  friends 
around  her  bed — all  her  countenance  changing — until 
we  saw  her  face  as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel. 
And  so  she  passed  within  the  veil.” 

It  is  considered  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  be  with 
members  of  his  flock  in  their  departing  hour,  that  he 
may  comfort  them  and  commend  their  souls  to  God, 
and  so  it  is.  But  it  ought  to  be  considered  the  duty  of 
elders,  and  also  of  other  godly  friends,  to  do  likewise. 
The  writer  is  familiar  with  a  case  in  which  a  minister 
was  asked  to  go  a  distance  by  train  to  the  bedside  of  a 
woman  who  was  thought  to  be  dying.  He  could  not 
go,  but  felt  considerable  relief,  as  an  elder  of  consid¬ 
erable  experience,  and  a  close  friend  of  the  family,  was 
to  be  there.  In  that  case  he  felt  that  the  elder  should 


WISDOM  IN  COMFORTERS 


231 


be  able  to  take  the  place  of  the  minister  in  attempting 
to  speak  peace  to  her  soul  and  comfort  the  sorrowing. 
If  he  had  never  undertaken  such  an  important  duty- 
before  he  ought  to  have  begun  then.  Sad  to  say,  he 
did  not,  and  there  are  many  of  supposedly  long  Chris¬ 
tian  experience,  who  will  not  undertake  the  important 
and  tender  duty  of  speaking  peace  to  the  soul  of  a 
departing  friend. 

When  this  earthly  tabernacle  is  being  dissolved : 
when  the  spirit  is  about  to  take  its  flight  to  God  who 
gave  it,  it  is  the  blessed  privilege  of  God’s  saints  to 
commend  the  spirit  to  God  who  gave  it.  May  God 
give  us  grace  and  wisdom,  that  we  may  be  ready  to 
comfort,  and  that  we  may  speak  wisely  in  the  hour  of 
sorrow  or  of  trial. 

“  In  every  pang  that  rends  the  heart 
The  Man  of  Sorrows  hath  a  part; 

He  sympathizes  with  our  grief, 

And  to  the  suff’rer  sends  relief.” 


XVII 


THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD 

Job  19 : 6-40 

WHILE  we  have  chosen  this  as  our  text  today, 
we  do  not  wish  to  be  confined  merely  to  the 
verses  before  us.  We  purpose  rather,  to 
draw  a  lesson  from  the  life  and  suffering  of  Job,  and 
its  effect  upon  him ;  a  lesson  which  is  perhaps  not  fully 
expressed  in  any  one  text  in  the  book  of  Job,  but  which 
naturally  presents  itself  to  us  as  an  outstanding  infer¬ 
ence  from  his  life.  The  thought  which  is  in  our  mind 
is  this :  the  hour  of  severe  trial  is  not  the  hour  to  delay 
to  seek  God.  Job  did  not  delay  in  his  search  for  God 
until  he  was  tried.  As  the  trial  was  so  great  and  the 
temptation  so  strong,  one  may  well  suppose  that  if  he 
had  not  had  his  faith  rooted  and  grounded  in  God 
before  this,  that  he  would  have  fallen  in  despair  under 
his  affliction.  The  verses  which  we  have  chosen  for 
our  text  show  how  nearly  Job  came  to  giving  in  to  the 
temptation,  that  there  was  no  hope  for  him,  and  that 
he  was  forsaken  of  God. 

Fuller  says :  “You  cannot  repent  too  soon,  because 
you  know  not  how  soon  it  may  be  too  late.”  Satan  is 
said  to  have  deceived  the  Circassians  by  leading  them 
to  divide  their  life  between  sin  and  devotion :  to  dedi¬ 
cate  their  youth  to  rapine  and  their  old  age  to  repent¬ 
ance.  He  is  constantly  deceiving  men  in  that  way  to¬ 
day.  Every  man  who  looks  upon  Job  and  studies  his 
life  ought  to  know  that  this  is  a  very  dangerous  pro¬ 
cedure,  because,  if  the  trials  and  temptations  which 

232 


THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD  233 


came  upon  Job  had  found  him  in  the  midst  of  rapine 
and  sin  he  would  not  have  repented  at  all,  but  would 
have  fallen  never  to  rise  again.  We  all  know  from 
experience  or  observation,  that  the  hour  of  trial,  or 
weakness,  or  old  age,  is  not  an  opportune  time  to  seek 
God.  If  one  leaves  off  seeking  God  until  that  time  of 
life,  he  is  not  likely  to  find  him. 

We  do  not  want  any  one  to  infer  from  these  state¬ 
ments  that  an  eleventh  hour  repentance  is  not  possible. 
It  is  possible,  but  not  probable.  The  examples  which 
we  know  from  Scripture,  history,  or  experience  of 
such  times  of  repentance  are  very  rare.  We  would  not 
drive  any  one  to  despair  who  may  have  reached  old 
age,  or  who  may  have  been  called  near  death’s  door, 
for  the  Lord  is  long-suffering  and  tender  in  mercy :  He 
heard  the  cry  of  the  thief  on  the  cross  and  took  him 
with  Him  to  glory.  On  the  other  hand,  we  would 
warn  every  one  who  may  be  feeling  that  there  will 
always  be  time  for  repentance,  neglect  or  unnecessary 
delay  is  well  nigh  spiritual  suicide. 

We  wish  to  consider  this  subject  both  from  God’s 
side  and  man’s  side. 


god's  side 

i.  God  is  not  satisfied  with  the  last  place  in  our 
lives.  The  man  who  flees  to  God  at  the  last  moment, 
not  because  he  loves  Him,  but  because  he  fears  eternal 
punishment,  is  not  acceptable.  God  says :  “  Seek  ye 
first  the  kingdom  of  God.”  “  He  that  is  not  with  me 
is  against  me,  and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  me  scat¬ 
tered!  abroad.”  We  might  as  well  refuse  Christ  at 
once  as  to  offer  Him  a  secondary  place,  or  the  last  end 
of  our  lives,  while  we  propose  to  give  the  best  to  the 
world.  There  was  once  a  rich  man  who  felt  entirely 


234  THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD 


satisfied  with  his  own  condition,  and  thought  nothing 
could  disturb  his  happiness  or  prosperity  for  years  to 
come.  He  said  to  himself :  “  Soul,  thou  hast  much 
goods  laid  up  for  many  years.  Take  thine  ease,  eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry.”  But  there  was  one  with  whom 
the  rich  man  failed  to  reckon.  God  called  to  the  rich 
man  and  said :  “  This  night  shall  thy  soul  be  required 
of  thee.”  He  had  given  the  world  first  place  and  God 
the  last  place,  and  when  the  call  came  unexpectedly,  as 
it  did,  he  found  that  God  gave  him  no  place. 

2.  God  does  not  save  men  merely  to  fill  up  the 
ranks  of  heaven.  Heaven  is  perfectly  glorious  as  it  is. 
It  would  be  less  glorious  if  any  were  admitted  who 
were  critics,  or  half-hearted  followers  of  Christ.  God 
does  not  want  mere  numbers  of  followers  to  populate 
either  earth  or  heaven,  He  wants  those  who  will  give 
Him  honour.  He  is  not  lacking  honour  now,  and 
needing  a  great  influx  of  followers  that  His  kingdom 
may  make  a  showing.  He  has  all  honour  and  glory 
and  power :  He  reigns  over  all  mankind  and  all  the 
universe,  now.  All  power  is  given  unto  Him  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.  There  are  some  organizations  which  will 
gladly  accept  members  or  followers,  even  though  they 
be  only  indirectly  in  sympathy  with  the  aim  of  the  or¬ 
ganization.  Not  so  with  admission  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  There  are  in  glory  now,  enough  angels  to 
make  its  borders  resound  continuously  with  the  praises 
of  God.  Let  no  man  think  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
cannot  get  along  without  him.  A  mansion  there  costs 
him  nothing  but  the  love  of  Christ;  but  without  that 
love  there  is  no  admission  to  its  borders. 

Why  administer  “  extreme  unction  ”  to  a  man  who 
has  been  living  in  sin?  The  supposition  that  this  so- 
called  sacrament  will  blot  out  his  sins  at  the  last  mo- 


THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD  235 


ment  and  pave  an  entrance  to  heaven,  is  a  dreadful 
deception.  It  has  no  value  for  any  one,  but  to  admin¬ 
ister  it  to  all  alike,  is  extremely  presumptuous.  The 
New  York  press  reported  the  following  account  of  a 
gentleman  who  died  at  his  residence  in  one  of  the 
up-town  fashionable  sections,  leaving  millions  of  dol¬ 
lars.  He  was  a  member  of  an  evangelical  church,  in 
good  standing,  a  good  husband  and  a  good  father,  and 
a  thrifty  citizen.  On  his  death  bed  he  suffered  great 
agony  of  mind  and  gave  frequent  expression  to  his 
remorse  for  what  his  conscience  told  him  had  been  an 
ill  spent  life.  “Oh!”  he  exclaimed,  and  his  weeping 
friends  and  relatives  gathered  about  his  bed — “  Oh  if 
I  could  only  live  my  years  over  again!  Oh  if  I  could 
only  be  spared  for  a  few  years  I  would  give  all  the 
wealth  I  have  amassed  in  a  life  time.  It  is  a  life  de¬ 
voted  to  money  getting  that  I  regret.  It  is  this  which 
weighs  me  down  and  makes  me  despair  of  life  here¬ 
after.”  His  pastor  endeavoured  to  soothe  him,  but  he 
turned  his  face  to  the  wall.  “  You  have  never  reproved 
my  avaricious  spirit,”  he  said  to  the  minister.  “  You 
have  called  it  a  wise  economy  and  forethought ;  but 
I  now  know  that  riches  have  only  been  a  snare  for  my 
poor  soul.  I  would  give  all  I  possess  to  have  hope  for 
my  poor  soul !  ”  Worth  eleven  million  dollars !  But 
he  himself  had  concluded  that  God  did  not  care  to  fill 
up  the  ranks  of  heaven  with  such,  though  he  had  been 
a  member  of  the  church  and  had  been  known  as  a 
moral  man.  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 

J.  God  will  not  set  aside  His  justice  to  save  any 
man.  Job  recognized  this  great  truth.  He  offered 
sacrifices  for  each  of  his  children,  saying  as  he  did  so : 
“  It  may  be  that  they  have  sinned  and  cursed  God  in 
their  hearts.”  He  knew  that  the  justice  of  God  would 


236  THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD 


demand  punishment  and  that  the  only  hope  of  escape 
from  it  was  by  sacrifice.  When  Job  was  cast  down  by 
sorrow  and  suffering,  he  sinned,  and  for  quite  a  while 
would  not  acknowledge  his  sin.  Had  he  not  been  a 
believer  and  a  lover  of  God  he  would  no  doubt  have 
fallen  lower  and  lower.  God  would  not  have  ap¬ 
proached  him  in  the  same  way,  He  would  not  have  had 
compassion  upon  him  as  He  did,  had  Job  not  sought 
Him  when  He  could  be  found.  It  was  not  as  though 
he  had  spent  his  life  up  to  that  time  in  the  midst  of  sin. 
A  life  spent  in  sin  must  be  punished.  God  will  in  no 
wise  clear  the  guilty. 

I  have  been  impressed  recently,  when  reading  some 
dying  testimonies  of  infidels,  of  how  they  have  been 
terrified  as  they  thought  of  meeting  with  a  just  God. 
Francis  Spira,  an  Italian  apostate,  exclaimed  just  be¬ 
fore  his  death :  “  My  sin  is  greater  than  the  mercy  of 
God.  I  have  denied  Christ  voluntarily ;  I  feel  that  He 
hardens  me,  allows  me  no  hope.”  Philip  III  of  Spain 
said:  “Oh  would  to  God  I  had  never  reigned!  Oh 
that  those  years  I  have  spent  in  my  kingdom  I  had 
lived  a  solitary  life  in  the  wilderness!  Oh  that  I  had 
lived  alone  with  God!  How  much  more  secure  should 
I  now  have  died!  With  how  much  more  confidence 
should  I  have  gone  to  the  throne  of  God !  What  doth 
all  my  glory  profit,  but  that  I  have  so  much  more  tor¬ 
ment  in  my  death  ?  ” 

Since  God  is  a  God  of  justice  it  behooves  us  to  seek 
Him  early,  and  seek  Him  that  we  may  find  mercy:  for 
if  He  would  only  mark  one  of  a  thousand  of  our  sins 
we  could  not  stand  in  judgment  before  Him. 

man's  side: 

i.  When  the  body  is  racked  with  pain  or  impaired 


THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD  237 

with  disease  it  is  difficult  to  concentrate  the  mind. 
Even  Job  found  it  so.  He  admitted  afterwards  that 
he  had  said  things  which  he  understood  not.  That 
was  not  natural  with  Job.  Ordinarily  he  was  a  very 
considerate  man,  he  was  careful  to  seek  remission  of 
sin  for  all  of  his  guilt.  But  he  was  different  when  he 
was  so  pained  in  body  that  he  could  scarcely  endure, 
and  had  not  the  patience  that  he  usually  had.  I  know 
from  my  own  experience  when  ill,  that  one  is  surprised 
how  difficult  it  is  to  concentrate,  to  think  of  the  com¬ 
mands  of  God,  and  of  the  various  phases  of  the  way 
of  life  as  one  may  easily  do  when  he  is  well.  And  one 
can  readily  see  that  it  is  a  very  poor  time  to  try  to  seek 
God  if  he  has  not  known  Him  before. 

When  the  body  is  impaired  with  disease  the  mind  is 
not  fitted  for  important  work,  or  in  case  of  old  age, 
the  work  that  would  have  been  easy  in  years  past,  be¬ 
comes  very  difficult,  and  it  is  hard  to  launch  out  into 
new  and  unfamiliar  fields  of  thought.  When  one 
notices  those  in  extreme  weakness,  upon  their  death¬ 
beds,  he  sees  how  difficult  it  is  for  them  to  think  clearly 
and  consecutively.  They  often  desire  that  some  one 
shall  lead  them  in  thought,  perhaps  read  a  portion  of 
Scripture  or  pray  with  them,  because  it  is  hard  for 
them  to  recall  extended  passages  of  Scripture  or  to 
formulate  a  prayer  right  through.  The  task  is  so  hard 
for  them  that  sometimes  they  will  fall  asleep  in  the 
midst  of  it,  or  give  it  up  altogether.  When  my  grand¬ 
mother  was  upon  her  last  bed  of  sickness,  and  had  suf¬ 
fered  intensely,  I  remember  that  she  said,  in  the  midst 
of  her  weakness  and  pain,  when  she  was  trying  to 
concentrate  her  mind  on  God  and  His  Word:  “My! 
how  dreadful  it  would  be  in  an  hour  like  this  to  be 
without  God.  This  is  a  poor  time  to  seek  God.” 


238  THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD 


In  a  little  country  tavern  on  the  road  from  Sheffield, 
in  the  New  England  States,  over  a  century  ago,  there 
lay  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  George  Sanders,  sick. 
Adoniram  Judson,  later  missionary  to  India,  at  that 
time  with  a  theatrical  company  of  New  York,  halted 
for  the  night.  He  was  told  by  the  old  Puritan  landlord 
before  he  retired,  that  there  was  a  sick  man  next  door 
to  his  room  and  that  he  intended  to  watch  all  night 
with  him.  Judson  could  not  sleep  well.  His  con¬ 
science  was  troubling  him  because  of  a  sermon  which 
he  had  heard  the  day  before.  He  had  gone  to  church 
out  of  respect  for  his  uncle.  As  he  lay  awake  that 
night  he  could  hear  the  groans  of  the  man  next  door. 
Occasionally  a  loud  curse  or  a  blood-curdling  yell 
would  be  mingled  with  the  sobbing  wind  and  the  noise 
of  the  rain  without.  As  the  sick  man  grew  worse  the 
cracked  voice  of  the  old  Puritan  landlord  could  be 
heard  reciting  passages  of  Scripture  or  offering  the 
comforts  of  religion  which  seemed  rather  to  enrage 
than  to  console  the  poor  sufferer.  At  length,  after  a 
more  severe  outburst  than  usual,  the  groans  and  the 
curses  ceased,  and  after  a  few  short  stifled  gasps,  all 
was  still  and  the  shadows  ceased  to  flit  along  the  wall. 

Next  morning  at  breakfast  he  inquired  after  the 
condition  of  the  sick  man.  “  Dead,”  replied  the  old 
man,  “  and  such  another  death  I  pray  God  I  may  never 
see.  Without  faith  in  God,  and  without  hope  in 
Christ,  he  has  gone  to  meet  his  doom.”  Judson,  who 
was  then  an  infidel,  did  not  relish  such  serious  reflec¬ 
tions,  but  he  inquired  who  the  young  man  was  and 
where  he  came  from.  The  old  man  replied  that  he  had 
found  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  George  Sanders,  of 
Brown  University.  Judson’s  knife  and  fork  fell  rat¬ 
tling  on  his  plate  and  his  hands  dropped  to  his  sides 


THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD  239 


as  if  paralyzed.  “  What,”  he  cried,  “  my  old  school¬ 
mate  who  graduated  with  me  last  year?”  When  he 
was  shown  into  the  room  and  saw  the  distorted  fea¬ 
tures  he  exclaimed,  “  Poor,  poor  George !  Who  would 
have  thought  a  year  ago  when  you  graduated,  the  pride 
of  your  class,  that  you  would  be  lying  thus,  far  from 
your  home,  with  not  even  a  schoolmate  to  soothe  your 
dying  hour  though  under  the  same  roof.  ’Tis  sad  to 
think  that  such  a  star  of  promise  should  be  thus 
shrouded  in  darkness.  Nothing  accomplished  in  this 
life.  And  the  next — Alas!  we  both  denied  a  future 
existence.  Your  past  was  an  opening  rose-bud,  your 
present  a  withered  flower,  and  your  future,  for  all  we 
know,  dust  and  ashes.  Shall  I  ever  lie  thus?”  He 
who  entered  an  infidel  went  away  a  penitent  seeking 
light.  He  said :  “  With  his  memory  I  also  bury  my 
former  life.  From  this  day  forth  I  will  strive  for 
something  nobler  than  either  of  us  sought  before.”  1 
The  old  Puritan  landlord,  godly  man  that  he  was,  had 
tried  his  best  with  exhortation  and  prayer  to  point  the 
brilliant  George  Sanders  to  God  in  his  dying  hour. 
But  he  had  denied  God  too  long.  It  was  not  an  oppor¬ 
tune  time  then,  when  his  body  was  weak,  and  his  mind 
was  impaired  and  delirious  with  disease,  to  either  seek 
or  find  God.  How  dreadful  is  it  to  meditate  on  a  life 
with  such  opportunities  going  out  in  darkness !  How 
loudly,  therefore,  does  the  call  come  to  us,  who  have 
before  us  the  way  of  life,  to  seek  Christ  our  Creator 
and  our  Redeemer  in  the  days  of  our  youth  while  the 
evil  days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh  when  we 
shall  say,  we  have  no  pleasure  in  them. 

2.  The  longer  we  permit  Satan  to  control  our  lives 
the  more  we  are  in  his  power.  When  Satan  gets  hold 

1  The  Child  of  the  Ganges,  pp.  119-124. 


240  THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD 


of  us  at  all  he  is  hard  to  break  away  from,  but  when 
he  gets  a  strangle  hold  our  condition  is  desperate. 
Habit  is  difficult  to  overcome  when  outward  circum¬ 
stances  are  favourable,  how  much  more  so  when  one 
is  weak  in  body  and  has  lost  his  power  of  will.  Bad 
habits  of  all  kinds  are  very  dangerous  to  follow,  but 
particularly  so  is  the  habit  of  denying  the  love  and  the 
goodness  of  God  and  of  ridiculing  the  grace  and  mercy 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour.  George  Sanders  had  formed 
the  habit  and  kept  it  up,  and  the  Lord  departed  from 
him  in  his  dying  hour.  Job  faced  a  struggle  which 
taxed  him  to  the  utmost,  even  though  he  had  already 
turned  away  from  evil  and  had  formed  the  habit  of 
doing  so  before  he  was  ill.  What  would  have  been  his 
opportunity  if  Satan  had  gained  a  strong  hold  of  him 
before? 

Saul  permitted  Satan  to  get  a  larger  and  larger  place 
in  his  heart,  until,  when  honour  or  dishonour  faced 
him  squarely,  and  when  even  death  stood  at  his  side  he 
could  not  endure  the  thought  of  it  all.  God  had  left 
him  and  he  had  no  support  for  such  a  terrible  hour. 
He  took  his  own  sword  and  fell  upon  it  and  thrust  out 
his  life.  He  permitted  Satan  to  gain  a  stronger  and 
stronger  hold  until  at  last  he  gloated  over  him  in  an 
ignominious  death. 

There  are  few  examples  that  are  more  wholesome 
for  us  to  follow  than  that  of  Job.  He  sought  God  in 
the  hour  of  health  and  prosperity  and  joy.  He  per¬ 
mitted  no  rush  of  business  or  pressure  of  pleasure  to 
interrupt  his  communion  with  God  or  his  worship  of 
him.  Consequently  God  did  not  fail  him  in  the  hour 
of  his  most  terrible  trials.  “  Remember  now  thy 
Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil  days 
come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh,  when  thou  shalt 


THE  OPPORTUNE  TIME  TO  SEEK  GOD  241 


say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them.”  2  “  Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him  while  he  is 
near.  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  un¬ 
righteous  man  his  thoughts:  and  let  him  return  unto 
the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him :  and  to  our 
God  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon.”  3 

As  we  said  at  the  beginning  so  we  say  again,  that 
we  would  not  discourage  anyone  who  wishes  to  come 
to  God  though  he  has  delayed  long  in  doing  so,  but  we 
wish  to  emphasize  the  danger  of  procrastination. 
Eleventh  hour  conversions  are  not  impossible,  but  they 
are  improbable,  and  it  is  not  safe  to  count  upon  finding 
God  when  we  have  gone  the  round  of  life  in  sin.  He 
is  ready  now  to  hear  in  His  mercy,  but  if  we  put  Him 
off  until  the  last  moment  of  an  ill-spent  life,  He  may 
turn  from  us  in  His  anger  and  leave  us  to  be  judged 
without  mercy. 

2Eccl.  12:1.  3  isa.  55:6,  7. 


XVIII 

THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 
Job  19 : 25 


THE  word  which  is  translated  Redeemer  in  this 
passage  is  in  the  Hebrew,  Gaal,  which  means 
to  redeem  or  ransom  by  paying  a  price.  It 
may  also  mean  to  avenge,  as  in  the  case  of  an 
avenger  of  blood.  The  former  was  used  in  civil 
jurisprudence  when  applied  to  the  next  of  kin  who 
redeemed  or  bought  back  the  inheritance.  The  latter 
was  used  in  criminal  jurisprudence  when  applied  to 
one  who  was  the  avenger  of  the  blood  of  a  murdered 
relative. 

Both  phases  of  the  subject  open  before  us  from  this 
one  word  which  is  translated  Redeemer.  There  is  pos¬ 
sibly  the  thought  of  the  avenger  or  destroyer,  as  well 
as  that  of  one  who  buys  back  or  redeems  in  order  to 
restore  and  to  save.  Job  was  suffering  so  terribly  that 
it  seemed  to  him  as  though  he  were  being  murdered  by 
a  cruel  enemy.  Satan  was  the  murderer,  Christ  was 
the  great  Redeemer  in  whom  Job  trusted  to  pay  the 
price,  that  he  might  live  eternally. 

See  Job  lying  there  in  the  ashes,  his  skin  is  all 
cracked,  and  there  are  open  festering  sores.  He  does 
not  have  the  inclination  or  the  strength  to  cleanse  him¬ 
self.  To  do  so  would  cause  too  much  pain.  Besides, 
in  his  present  condition  he  would  be  little  better,  for 
with  his  property  all  gone,  his  home  broken  up  and 
nothing  but  disease  left,  nothing  but  ashes  in  which  to 

242 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 


243 


sit,  he  would  be  in  as  filthy  a  condition  in  a  short  time 
again.  The  condition  in  which  Job  was  at  that  time  is 
almost  beyond  description,  it  makes  one  shudder  to 
think  of  it.  But  to  have  an  accurate  realization  of 
what  it  meant  to  him  we  must  remember  it.  The  flies 
annoy  him  constantly,  the  worms  are  crawling  over 
his  body  1  and  getting  into  his  putrefying  sores.  He 
is  loathsome  to  himself  and  to  his  friends.  They 
stand  back  and  shudder  and  will  not  touch  his  repel¬ 
lent  flesh. 

After  a  season  of  great  despondency,  when,  bereaved 
of  his  family,  stripped  of  his  honour,  deserted  of  his 
friends,  looked  upon  by  his  servants  as  an  outcast :  Job 
turns  over,  looks  up  to  heaven  and — though  Satan  has 
been  trying  to  gain  the  mastery  the  Spirit  of  God  has 
never  left  him — with  his  faith  centered  upon  God  and 
a  brighter  vision  he  cries  out :  “  I  know  that  my  Re¬ 
deemer  liveth.”  The  sacrifices  which  I  have  been 
offering  are  not  in  vain.  They  point  me  to  the  Re¬ 
deemer.  He  has  cleansed  me  and  purchased  me  with 
his  blood.  Truly  my  sins  have  been  as  scarlet,  but  He 
will  redeem  me,  buy  me  back,  and  present  me  at  the 
last  day  cleansed  from  all  sin.  He  is  no  stranger  to  me 
and  will  not  appear  a  stranger  when  I  arise  clothed 
with  immortality. 

This  great  fact  had  so  impressed  itself  upon  the 
mind  of  Job  that  he  wished  that  it  might  be  engraved 
upon  the  rock  so  deeply,  and  preserved  so  carefully, 
that  it  would  last  forever.  It  is  the  greatest  fact  which 
the  world  can  know. 

To  those  to  whom  this  message  comes  as  it  has  been 
handed  down  from  the  generations  gone  by,  what  has 
it  for  the  world  today? 


*7:5. 


244 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 


WHAT  HAS  CHRIST  REDEEMED  US  EROM  ? 

The  old  avenger  is  Satan.  He  is  still  trying  to 
destroy  us,  body  and  soul.  Like  the  fabled  Cyclops, 
we  cannot  meet  him  successfully  alone.  We  need  some 
one  who  has  sufficient  power  to  save  us  from  his  grasp. 

The  Rev.  James  Evans,  “  The  Apostle  of  the 
North,”  upon  one  occasion,  set  out  with  two  Indian 
companions,  Hassel  and  Oig,  to  reach  a  distant  north¬ 
ern  tribe,  “  to  guard  them  against  the  false  teachings 
and  erroneous  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome.” 
They  had  made  rapid  progress  for  a  number  of  days, 
until,  one  misty  morning,  after  they  had  launched  their 
canoe,  they  saw  a  flock  of  ducks,  and  the  man  in  the 
stern  of  the  canoe  handed  the  gun  to  Mr.  Evans,  who 
was  passing  it  forwards  to  his  companion  in  the 
front,  when  it  was  accidentally  discharged.  The  whole 
charge  went  into  Mr.  HasseFs  head  just  at  the  base  of 
his  skull.  “  Poor  Hassel !  he  just  turned  and  gave  one 
sad  look  at  the  missionary  and  then  fell  over  dead.  It 
was  an  awful  time.  Mr.  Evans  was  wild  with  grief, 
and  so  was  I.  We  wept  and  mourned  like  little  chil¬ 
dren.  We  were  dazed  and  bewildered.”  This  was  the 
manner  in  which  Mr.  Oig,  the  Indian  guide,  spoke  in 
after  years.  They  were  forced  to  bury  the  Indian  there 
because  they  were  so  far  from  home.  With  a  broken 
heart  Mr.  Evans  returned  to  his  wife  and  daughter. 
After  thinking  the  matter  over  carefully  he  decided  to 
surrender  himself  to  the  tribe  to  which  the  dead  man 
belonged.  He  kissed  his  wife  and  daughter  good-bye 
and  left  alone.  After  a  long  journey  he  came  to  the 
bounds  of  the  pagan  tribe,  and  sought  out  the  tent  of 
the  mother  of  Mr.  Hassel.  All  he  could  do  was  to 
weep  for  a  time.  When  he  told  his  story,  the  Indians, 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 


245 


most  of  whom  did  not  like  the  missionary  or  Mr.  Has- 
sel,  who  had  “  left  the  religion  of  his  forefathers/’  de¬ 
manded  vengeance.  “  Tomahawks  were  drawn  and 
knives  unsheathed,  and  there  was  a  cry  for  the  satis¬ 
faction  of  blood.”  But  Mr.  Hassel’s  mother,  who  saw 
the  genuine  grief  of  the  missionary,  was  moved  in 
sympathy  toward  Mr.  Evans.  “  When  it  seemed  as 
though  the  avengers  of  blood  would  prevail,  and  Mr. 
Evans  would  be  killed,  she  sprang  up  from  her  place 
in  the  wigwam,  and,  going  over  to  him,  she  put  both 
her  hands  upon  his  head  and  said :  4  He  shall  not  die. 
There  was  no  evil  in  his  heart.  He  loved  my  son.  He 
shall  live,  and  shall  be  my  son  in  place  of  the  one  who 
is  not  among  the  living.’  ”  He  remained  in  the  wig¬ 
wam  of  his  new  father  and  mother  for  a  time.  He 
talked  to  them  of  God  as  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
of  the  blessed  land  beyond  this,  into  which  their  son 
had  entered.  When  the  time  came  that  he,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  tribe,  could  go,  he  kissed  them 
both  and  returned  to  his  family.  Ever  after  that  he 
sent  money  to  them  as  their  son  Hassel  had  done.2 

As  truly  as  the  Indian  mother  saved  the  missionary 
from  the  avengers  of  blood  in  her  tribe,  so  truly  has 
Christ  the  Redeemer  saved  us  from  the  great  avenger 
Satan.  Our  opportunity  to  know  the  Redeemer  and 
the  extent  and  power  of  His  sacrifice  and  redemptive 
work  is  much  better  than  was  that  of  Job.  May  we 
exercise  like  faith,  that  we  may  be  redeemed  from  the 
cruel  and  relentless  grasp  of  the  great  enemy,  Satan. 

WHAT  HAS  HE  REDEEMED  TOR  US? 

The  Jew  was  always  grateful  to  the  person  who 
would  redeem  his  farm  when  it  had  been  sold  and  he 


2  The  Apostle  of  the  North,  pp.  244-53. 


246 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 


was  in  poverty.  Naomi  and  Ruth  were  grateful  to 
Boaz,  because,  when  they  were  poor  and  unable  to  pay 
off  the  debt  on  their  property,  as  there  probably  was  a 
debt  which  had  accumulated  through  the  years  past, 
and  when  they  were  in  need  of  money  for  the  future, 
he  redeemed  it  for  them.  It  would  have  been  ex¬ 
tremely  difficult  for  Naomi  and  Ruth  to  have  existed, 
owing  to  past  family  losses  and  financial  reverses,  if 
there  had  been  no  one  who  was  willing  to  purchase  the 
inheritance  from  them. 

Christ  has  redeemed  for  us  something  that  is  far 
more  valuable  than  any  farm  or  property.  He  has 
redeemed  our  souls,  He  has  bought  them  back  with  His 
own  precious  blood.  That  was  what  gave  Job  such 
relief  amidst  his  poverty  and  suffering.  He  knew  that 
Christ  had  redeemed  his  soul  and  he  would  see  his 
blessed  redeemer  in  heaven.  The  world  when  weighed 
over  against  the  soul  is  nothing.  “  What  shall  it  profit 
a  man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own 
soul,  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his 
soul  ?  ” 

Job  knew  that  his  soul,  which  was  in  the  hands  of 
God,  could  not  be  destroyed.  It  might  be  refined  and 
purified  but  it  would  last  forever,  though  his  body 
might  pass  through  the  fire.  In  a  New  York  city  store 
there  was  displayed  in  a  window  two  garments,  bear¬ 
ing  competing  brands,  which  it  had  been  claimed  were 
all  wool.  Both  of  these  garments  had  been  submitted 
to  the  test  of  an  acid  which  destroys  wool,  but  which 
does  not  affect  vegetable  fibre.  One  garment,  which 
was  really  all  wool,  was  entirely  destroyed  so  far  as  it 
had  been  dipped  into  the  acid.  The  other  showed  a 
coarse  net-work  of  cotton  fibres,  from  which  the  fifty 
per  cent  wool  had  been  eaten.  Job  was  then  being 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE  247 

tried  by  the  acid  test.  His  body  was  not  immortal  and 
it  might  not  endure,  but  nothing  could  consume  or 
annihilate  his  soul,  because  it  was  safe  under  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  the  Redeemer,  who  never  allows  any  of  His 
own  to  perish. 

Why  should  this  be  a  matter  to  be  graven  with  an 
iron  pen  and  lead  in  the  rock  forever  ?  One  reason  is, 
because  it  lifts  up  the  downcast,  relieves  the  afflicted, 
and  heals  the  broken-hearted.  Job’s  friends,  though 
they  had  tried  to  bring  relief  to  the  man  who  was  in 
the  depths,  had  only  made  matters  worse.  But  when 
he  laid  hold  of  Christ  anew,  his  soul  triumphed,  and 
forgetting  his  bodily  pain  and  the  scorn  of  friends,  he 
was  ready  to  “  die  in  faith,  not  having  received  the 
promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar  off.”  3  By  his 
life  and  words  he  declared  plainly  that  he  sought  a 
country.  That  he  “  desired  a  better  country,  that  is, 
an  heavenly.”  That  “  he  looked  for  a  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.” 4 
These  Scripture  references  speak  of  men  and  women 
as  old,  or  older  than  Abraham.  Surely  then  we  will 
not  deny  Job  the  possibility  of  having  as  clear  a  vision 
of  immortality  and  of  his  Redeemer.  When  he  had  so 
clear  a  vision,  is  it  not  natural  that  he  should  desire 
that  it  should  be  graven  on  the  rock,  that  all  men  of  all 
ages  might  read  and  believe  that  Christ  is  a  blessed 
and  glorious  Redeemer?  What  this  glorious  message 
means  to  one  man  who  is  seeking  relief,  it  will  mean 
to  any  who  will  seek  Christ. 

It  was  well  that  this  message  of  Job  should  be  writ¬ 
ten  on  the  rock  forever,  because  it  is  the  most  glorious 
theme  of  all  mankind.  From  the  Apostle  Paul,  whose 
theme  was  Christ  crucified,  to  the  latest  convert  of  to- 


3  Heb.  11:13.  *Heb.  11:10. 


248 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 


day,  they  find  their  greatest  message  in  the  cross. 
There  is  nothing  in  which  they  glory  so  much  as  in 
the  thought  of  the  cross  and  in  what  it  means  for  men 
of  every  race. 

We  like  to  honour  the  hero,  particularly  one  who 
has  sacrificed  much  for  his  fellow  men.  The  soldier  is 
honoured  because  he  was  willing  to  risk  health  and  life 
for  his  home  and  country.  The  missionary  is  hon¬ 
oured  who  makes  great  sacrifices  for  his  fellow  men, 
and  that  with  the  greatest  spirit  of  unselfishness.  That 
is  why  the  reader  who  meditates  on  the  life  of  David 
Livingstone  is  filled  with  admiration.  He  began  life 
in  a  workman’s  cottage  without  knowledge  or  skill, 
and  without  money  to  obtain  them.  Yet  when  he  died, 
the  world  was  so  full  of  his  praise  and  wonder  at  his 
work  that  his  body  was  brought  from  Africa  to  rest  in 
Westminster  Abbey  in  company  with  his  country’s 
greatest  men.  And  the  traveler  today  who  passes  by 
his  tomb  pauses,  and  reverently  breathes  a  prayer  that 
he  may  be  filled  with  a  similar  spirit  of  dauntless  zeal 
and  unwavering  sacrifice.  It  was  because  of  her  sacri¬ 
fice  and  devotion  in  her  missionary  work  at  Burmah, 
that  Mrs.  Sarah  Judson,  second  wife  of  Adoniram 
Judson,  who  because  of  failing  health  had  started 
homeward  and  died  at  St.  Helena,  was  paid  so  much 
higher  a  tribute  by  her  biographer  than  Napoleon. 
They  were  both  buried  on  the  same  bleak  island,  but 
the  one  had  gone  out  to  a  dark  land  to  conquer  the 
world  by  love  for  the  great  Captain  of  her  salvation : 
the  other  had  started  out  to  conquer  the  world  by  the 
force  of  the  sword  and  had  caused  Europe  to  run  red 
with  human  blood.  The  one  had  given  all  in  noble 
sacrifice  for  her  Lord:  the  other  had  given  all  in 
haughty  and  reckless  prodigality  for  the  honour  of  self. 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 


249 


When  we  are  honouring  the  hero  and  talking  of  sac¬ 
rifice  we  must  place  far  in  advance,  and  in  a  class  which 
stands  wholly  alone,  the  great  sacrifice  which  our  Lord 
Jesus  made  for  sinful  men.  Others  have  been  willing 
to  give  up  much,  but  He  gave  up  His  glorious  home  in 
heaven  to  come  down  into  a  sinful  world  to  be  mocked 
and  buffeted  and  hung  upon  the  cross.  We  bear  the 
cross,  in  part  at  least,  that  we  may  be  saved  from  suf¬ 
fering  eternal  death.  Jesus  bore  the  cross,  not  for  any 
sin  or  need  of  His  own,  but  that  we  might  be  saved 
from  the  wrath  of  Almighty  God.  If  there  is  anything 
that  is  worthy  of  being  written  with  lead  on  the  rock 
forever,  it  is  the  story  of  Jesus  and  His  unselfish  love. 

Moreover,  the  message  of  Job  is  worthy  of  being 
written  upon  the  indelible  rock  because  it  is  the  most 
glorious  theme  of  heaven  forever.  When  John  in  vis¬ 
ion  saw  the  throne  of  God,  he  saw  the  four  living 
creatures  and  the  four  and  twenty  elders  singing  the 
praises  of  the  Redeemer:  “  Thou  art  worthy — for  thou 
wast  slain  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood, 
out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  na¬ 
tion;  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests; 
and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth.”  Then  the  great 
chorus  of  angels  and  living  creatures  round  about  the 
throne,  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands 
of  thousands  broke  in :  “  Saying  with  a  loud  voice, 
Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power, 
and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honour,  and 
glory,  and  blessing.  And  every  creature  which  is  in 
heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such 
as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I  say¬ 
ing,  Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power,  be 
unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the 
Lamb  for  ever  and  ever.” 


250 


THE  REDEEMER  OUR  HOPE 


When  Moses  and  Elijah  came  down  from  heaven  to 
have  a  brief  season  of  communion  with  Christ  on 
earth,  their  theme  was  the  decease  which  was  about  to 
be  accomplished.  That  was  the  great  theme  of  heaven 
then,  and  so  it  has  been  ever  since.  It  was  the  greatest 
event  of  all  time,  it  was  greater  than  the  creation  of  the 
world,  and  it  will  be  greater  than  the  destruction  of 
the  earth. 

Christ’s  redemptive  work  is  the  great  theme  of  the 
whole  Bible.  The  crimson  cord  reaches  through  the 
sacred  volume  from  beginning  to  end.  From  the  sac¬ 
rifice  which  was  offered  by  Abel,  to  the  Lamb  which 
was  slain  of  which  the  angels  sang  in  Revelation,  the 
outstanding  message  of  all  Scripture  is  the  work  and 
death  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  Old  Testament  leads 
up  to  it,  and  the  New  Testament  records  the  facts  of 
it  and  points  out  the  results  of  it.  It  should  be  the 
great  theme  which  rests  upon  our  hearts.  It  should  be 
on  our  minds  day  and  night  through  the  days  that  are 
to  come,  so  that  we  shall  be  prepared  to  give  the  highest 
honour  and  glory  to  our  Redeemer  who  lives  and 
reigns  forever. 


XIX 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 
Job  28 :  12-28 

IT  is  coming  to  be  more  and  more  the  popular  opin¬ 
ion,  that  the  men  who  hold  the  largest  number  of 
degrees  or  the  highest  professorship  in  the  leading 
universities,  are,  aside  from  all  other  considerations, 
the  wisest  men.  But  education  and  wisdom  are  not 
always  synonymous.  One  occasionally  hears  expres¬ 
sions  like  this :  “  Mr.  So  and  So  has  a  splendid  educa¬ 
tion,  but  he  doesn’t  have  a  bit  of  sense.”  Of  course 
by  that  they  mean  that  such  an  one  does  not  have  what 
is  ordinarily  termed  common  sense. 

There  is  another  phase  of  wisdom  which  is  presented 
in  this  chapter,  and  which  is  of  prime  importance  in 
a  true  estimation  of  any  man.  One  may  have  uni¬ 
versity  degrees  and  be  entirely  devoid  of  the  wisdom 
which  is  highest  and  truest.  One  may  have  what  is 
popularly  termed  common  sense,  and  yet  not  be  wise 
in  the  sense  in  which  wisdom  is  used  in  the  passage 
before  us.  Job  sums  up  the  true  and  false  values  as 
regards  wisdom,  and  shows  where  it  does,  and  where 
it  does  not  lie.  If  men  would  take  Job’s  advice  today, 
there  would  be  many  wiser  men  than  there  are  in 
the  world. 


The  price  oe  wisdom 

I  have  heard  of  men  who  have  bought  honorary 
degrees  from  certain  educational  institutions.  That 

251 


252 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 


rather  reveals  a  lack  of  wisdom  than  a  large  amount 
of  it.  True  wisdom,  according  to  Job,  cannot  be 
bought  with  gold  or  silver  or  precious  jewels.  While 
there  were  some  things  in  which  Job’s  judgment  erred, 
in  this  he  was  certainly  right.  “  Where  shall  wisdom 
be  found?  and  where  is  the  place  of  understanding? 
Man  knoweth  not  the  price  thereof ;  neither  is  it  found 
in  the  land  of  the  living.  The  depth  saith,  It  is  not  in 
me :  and  the  sea  saith,  It  is  not  with  me.  It  cannot  be 
gotten  for  gold,  neither  shall  silver  be  weighed  for  the 
price  thereof.  It  cannot  be  valued  with  the  gold  of 
Ophir,  with  the  precious  onyx  or  the  sapphire.  The 
gold  and  the  crystal  cannot  equal  it :  and  the  exchange 
of  it  shall  not  be  for  jewels  of  fine  gold.  No  mention 
shall  be  made  of  coral  or  of  pearls:  for  the  price  of 
wisdom  is  above  rubies.  The  topaz  of  Ethiopia  shall 
not  equal  it,  neither  shall  it  be  valued  with  pure  gold.” 

“  Whence  then  cometh  wisdom  ?  and  where  is  the 
place  of  understanding  ?  ” 

the:  peace;  whe:re  wisdom  is  pound 

i.  It  is  not  found  in  man.  Some  of  the  most  dili¬ 
gent  and  painstaking  investigators  have  not  found  wis¬ 
dom.  One  may  have  looked  deeply  into  science,  an¬ 
other  may  have  searched  the  realms  of  philosophy 
without  finding  wisdom.  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  and  others 
of  similar  persuasion,  have  thought  that  the  highest 
wisdom  could  be  found  through  science,  that  the 
human  mind  may  even  search  the  realms  of  eternity. 
He  has,  however,  overlooked  the  very  elemental  dif¬ 
ferences  between  faith  and  science. 

Faith  is  the  assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  a  con¬ 
viction  of  things  not  seen.  Science  is  classified  knowl¬ 
edge  of  things  seen.  One  rests  upon  things  not  seen, 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 


253 


the  other  upon  things  seen.  Consequently,  in  the  very 
beginning,  faith  is  thrown  out  of  the  same  realm  as 
that  of  science.  The  one  corroborates  the  other:  but 
the  man  who  tries  to  base  one  upon  the  other,  and  in¬ 
termingles  his  reasoning  concerning  things  which  are 
not  basically  homogenous  is  revealing  his  own  lack  of 
logic,  and  renders  himself  unworthy  of  confidence  as 
an  investigator. 

“  God  has  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  pru¬ 
dent  and  revealed  them  unto  babes.”  The  term  wise, 
as  used  here,  defines  earthly  wisdom.  The  highest  or 
truest  form  of  wisdom  is  not  found  in  the  world  alone 
or  in  man. 

2.  It  is  found  with  God.  To  try  to  imagine  one 
who  has  all  wisdom,  is  so  wonderful,  so  confounding, 
that  when  we  begin  to  attempt  to  comprehend  it  we 
become  lost  and  confused,  and  can  only  say,  His 
wisdom  is  infinite. 

We  do  not  have  all  knowledge  concerning  any  one 
little  circle  in  which  we  live  or  work.  Suppose  you 
narrow  it  down  to  house  and  home.  Suppose  you  wish 
to  understand  all  about  the  furniture  of  your  house 
and  the  people  in  it,  you  soon  discover  that  your  knowl¬ 
edge  is  very  superficial.  Take  the  chair  in  your  house. 
How  is  the  carving  done  upon  it?  Of  what  is  the  glue 
made  ?  How  does  the  wood  grow  ?  What  makes  some 
wood  light  and  some  heavy?  Some  hard  and  some 
soft?  Or  the  dishes  from  which  you  eat.  From  what 
are  they  made?  How  are  they  coloured?  What  is 
the  chemical  composition  of  them?  How  are  they 
glazed?  What  acids  will  not  injure  them,  and  what 
ones  will  cause  decomposition?  Or  notice  the  rug 
upon  your  floor.  What  is  the  composition  of  the  cord 
of  which  it  is  woven?  How  are  the  colours  woven 


254 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 


into  it?  Or  the  potato  in  your  pantry.  How  does  it 
grow?  Why  does  it  lie  through  the  winter  without 
sprouting?  Why  is  it  in  the  spring  that  you  cannot 
prevent  it  from  sprouting?  How  does  it  reckon  time? 
How  does  it  separate  the  ingredients,  of  which  it  is 
composed,  from  the  air  and  soil?  Or  the  persons  in 
the  home.  Can  you  explain  the  human  system,  its 
growth,  its  working,  the  causes  of  decay?  Can  you 
tell  why  certain  organs  of  the  body  cease  to  function? 
Why  under  similar  circumstances  does  one  organ  fail 
to  perform  its  part,  at  another  time  some  other  organ  ? 
You  may  reply,  I  am  not  a  physician:  but  if  you  were 
could  you  understand  all  of  these  things?  Can  you 
understand  the  mind  of  man,  how  the  memory  works, 
the  reasoning  faculties,  the  emotions?  We  cannot  un¬ 
derstand  even  our  minds,  much  less  those  of  others. 
But  God  knows  all  about  all  of  these  things,  He  knows 
all  about  all  things  everywhere.  He  knows  our 
thoughts,  what  they  have  been  and  what  they  will  be 
through  life. 

j.  God's  decrees  were  from  eternity.  God  is  the 
author  of  all  wisdom.  He  had  planned  the  form,  com¬ 
position,  and  working  of  the  world,  before  it  existed. 
He  had  planned  the  creation  of  man,  the  increase  of 
population,  the  similarities  and  differences,  yes  the 
mind  of  man  and  its  individual  workings,  when  even 
man’s  dust  had  not  been  formed.  To  manage  a  great 
department  store,  or  a  great  factory,  or  an  army  of 
men,  is  a  large  undertaking.  Not  every  mind  can  grasp 
it  all,  no  one  attempts  to  handle  all  the  details.  Many 
things  that  are  attempted  are  merely  experimental. 
Not  so  with  God.  He  knows  all  the  details,  He  knows 
how  they  will  work  out  before  they  are  begun. 

There  are  men  who  rise  to  as  great  heights  of  knowl- 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 


255 


edge  as  they  can,  by  studying  God’s  works  and  work¬ 
ings,  as  they  are  seen  in  material  things,  and  then  they 
think  that  they  are  on  the  summit  of  wisdom,  so  far 
as  it  may  be  possessed  by  man.  Shall  we  yield  to  the 
position  of  such  men?  Do  we  show  that  we  are  big¬ 
oted  when  we  insist  that  such  scholars  are  wrong? 
Surely  any  one  who  will  admit  that  God  is  the  source 
of  the  highest  wisdom  must  admit  that  such  men  are 
mistaken,  for  God  says :  “  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
beginning  of  wisdom.” 

Therefore,  the  educator,  or  the  school  which  does 
not  give  first  place  to  the  fear  of  God,  is  not  promoting 
the  truest  wisdom.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  many 
of  the  educators  of  the  present  day,  having  absorbed 
the  secular  theory  of  education,  do  not  see  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  this  great  truth.  They  have  relegated  the 
Bible,  the  source  of  all  wisdom,  to  the  background. 
In  the  majority  of  public  schools  in  America  there  is 
little  of  Bible  reading  or  prayer.  The  Book  which  sets 
before  the  child  the  beginning  of  wisdom  is  withheld 
from  the  pupils.  God  was  the  first  superintendent  of 
education.  He  directed  Israel  in  their  establishment 
of  schools,  and  in  their  teaching.  Wherever  the  Bible 
has  gone,  education  has  gone,  wherever  the  Bible  is 
unknown  ignorance  prevails.  It  is  evident  then,  that 
God’s  Word  is  the  greatest  inspiration  in  the  promo¬ 
tion  of  education.  The  more  religious  of  the  early 
settlements  in  America  were  the  most  diligent  in  pro¬ 
moting  education.  The  little  red  school  house,  which 
has  been  so  highly  praised,  was  built  not  merely  to 
develop  the  mind,  but  the  soul.  The  object  was  to 
teach  morals  as  well  as  figures.  In  the  Massachusetts 
colony  in  1647,  an  order  was  passed  which  runs  in  this 
way:  “It  being  one  chief  project  of  the  old  deluder 


256 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 


Satan,  to  keep  men  from  the  knowledge  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  as  in  former  times — that  learning  may  not  be 
buried  in  the  grave  of  our  fathers  in  the  Church  and 
in  the  Commonwealth,  the  Lord  assisting  our  endeav¬ 
ours.”  It  was  therefore  ordered  that  where  there 
were  fifty  families  in  a  township  a  teacher  should  be 
hired,  and  where  there  were  one  hundred  families  there 
should  be  a  grammar  school.  The  charter  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  contained  the  following  preamble :  “  Whereas 
the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  any  people  depend,  in  a 
great  measure,  upon  the  good  education  of  the  youth, 
and  their  early  introduction  in  the  principles  of  true 
religion  and  virtue,  and  qualifying  them  to  serve  their 
country  and  themselves  by  breeding  them  in  reading 
and  writing,  and  the  learning  of  languages  and  useful 
arts  and  sciences :  ”  they  would  erect  public  schools  for 
the  purposes  of  promoting  education. 

It  is  not  a  step  forward  in  the  acquirement  of  true 
wisdom,  that  schools  are  more  and  more  overlooking 
the  basis  of  all  wisdom,  the  fear  of  God.  One  won¬ 
ders,  when  will  men  learn  that  wisdom  is  not  from 
man,  but  from  God?  “  The  fear  of  the  Lord  that  is 
wisdom,  and  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding.” 
The  highest  and  truest  wisdom  is  not  lodged  in  the 
great  scientists,  or  noted  philosophers,  or  popular 
statesmen.  Paul  was  a  convict  in  chains,  yet  he  could 
advise  the  sailors  concerning  navigation  better  than 
they  knew,  because  his  wisdom  was  from  God.  Joseph 
was  a  slave,  yet  he  could  advise  the  wise  men  and  as¬ 
trologers  of  Egypt.  Daniel  was  a  young  captive,  yet 
he  could  advise  the  experienced  physical  trainers,  pro¬ 
fessors,  and  philosophers  of  Babylon.  What  was  it 
that  enabled  these  men  to  advise  those  who  held  them 
in  dishonour,  and  looked  upon  them  as  ignorant? 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 


257 


They  said  distinctly,  that  it  was  nothing  peculiar  to 
them,  but  it  was  God  who  gave  them  the  wisdom. 

WHY  IS  THE  F EAR  OF  THE  FORD  THE  TRUEST  WISDOM  ? 

1.  Because  there  is  more  genuine  satisfaction  in  it. 
There  is  a  certain  amount  of  satisfaction  in  the  ac¬ 
quiring  of  knowledge.  An  understanding  of  some 
phase  of  science,  or  of  philosophy,  or  of  literature, 
brings  a  degree  of  satisfaction.  But  there  is  never  the 
peace  of  mind  and  the  comfort  of  the  heart  which 
comes  from  this  alone  that  there  is  from  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  things  divine,  particularly  to  know  God  as  our 
God  and  Christ  as  our  Saviour. 

Col.  Ethan  Allen  had  lived  the  life  of  an  infidel. 
His  wife  was  a  pious  woman  and  taught  her  daughter 
the  Gospel.  The  daughter  sickened  and  the  father  was 
sent  for,  to  be  with  her  in  her  dying  hour.  “  Father,” 
she  said,  “  I  am  about  to  die :  shall  I  believe  the  prin¬ 
ciples  which  you  have  taught  me,  or  shall  I  believe 
what  my  mother  has  taught  me?”  After  waiting  a 
few  moments  to  calm  his  extreme  agitation,  he  replied, 
“  Believe  what  your  mother  has  taught  you.” 

2.  Because  it  does  not  lose  its  value  with  a  new 
generation.  With  every  new  generation  one  feels  that 
the  knowledge  which  he  gained  in  the  schools  is  out  of 
date.  One  who  has  been  out  of  school  for  a  few  years 
is  surprised  when  he  returns  to  some  of  the  rooms,  for 
the  methods  which  were  used  when  he  was  there  are 
revolutionized.  But  the  knowledge  which  we  gain 
concerning  God  does  not  change.  It  is  true,  we  hear 
that  certain  tenets  of  theology  are  out  of  date.  Some 
may  so  declare,  but  it  does  not  change  the  basis  of 
truth  in  the  Impregnable  Rock  of  Holy  Scripture.  It 
remains  eternally  the  same.  If  you  once  have  a  true 


258 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TRUE  WISDOM 


view  of  God,  and  of  the  doctrines  which  He  has  given 
to  men,  you  have  a  true  view  always.  You  have  the 
same  hope  to  rest  upon,  now  and  forever. 

j.  Because  it  is  a  guide  to  purer  life  and  better 
society.  Higher  education  is  not  necessarily  a  guide 
to  a  purer  life  and  better  society.  We  often  see  very 
impure  lives,  and  corrupt  society  in  university  circles, 
or  in  the  so-called  upper  classes  of  society.  But  where 
the  fear  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  also  a  separation  from 
evil.  Job  did  not  think  it  enough  to  fear  God,  he  also 
turned  away  from  evil.  And  that  is  what  he  advises 
here.  The  fear  and  love  of  God  will  give  us  an  ab¬ 
horrence  of  evil.  We  will  not  love  evil  companions, 
we  will  desire  to  see  society  purged  of  all  vices  and 
institutions  of  evil  which  demoralize  men  today. 

We  can  talk  about  education  performing  this  great 
work :  but  it  has  not,  and  will  not  do  it  alone.  We  can 
talk  about  social  service  giving  men  an  opportunity  to 
be  better :  but  it  will  not,  it  cannot  purge  society,  with¬ 
out  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  fear  of  God. 

4.  Because  it  is  a  treasure  which  incomparably 
outlasts  all  earthly  wisdom.  That  which  we  gain  in 
knowledge  in  the  schools,  we  expect  to  use  mainly 
during  the  years  of  our  profession  or  business.  We 
do  not  expect  that  it  shall  be  of  value  in  the  enjoyment 
of  heaven.  But  the  knowledge  that  we  gain  of  the 
Bible  and  of  God  will  be  of  value  long  after  our  dust 
has  returned  to  dust,  and  the  spirit  has  returned  to 
God  who  gave  it. 


XX 


UNFORESEEN  LIMITATIONS  OF 
PROSPERITY 

Job  29:  18 

TO  build  air  castles  is  not  merely  the  play  of  the 
child,  it  often  holds  a  large  place  in  the  life  of 
the  man.  They  are  not  usually  so  wildly  con¬ 
structed  by  mature  minds,  but  yet  the  hopes,  the  plans, 
the  expectations  of  many  a  man  are  blasted  and  driven 
away  in  what  we  would  have  supposed  was  an  incred¬ 
ibly  short  space  of  time.  You  may  say,  Job’s  hopes 
were  not  merely  air  castles.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be 
correct  to  call  them  that :  he  was  not  merely  imagining 
a  time  when  he  would  be  rich  and  when  he  would  have 
an  ideal  home,  with  all  the  possessions  that  he  would 
want  to  make  him  happy,  with  a  family  which  was 
harmonious  and  prosperous,  with  honour  both  within 
his  own  city  and  abroad,  with  the  respect  not  merely  of 
the  poor  upon  the  street  to  whom  he  gave  alms,  but 
with  the  respect  of  the  rich  and  noble  as  well.  His 
riches,  his  fame,  his  honour,  and  his  pleasure  were 
actually  present.  But  where  Job’s  hopes  failed  to  ma¬ 
terialize  was  in  the  supposition  that  this  condition 
should  last  permanently.  Job  thought  that  there  was 
no  doubt,  since  he  was  making  a  right  use  of  his 
wealth,  that  he  should  be  permitted  to  retain  it,  and  as 
he  expressed  it  so  vividly,  die  in  his  nest. 

Job  stood  in  striking  contrast  to  the  foolish  rich 
man  of  whom  Jesus  spoke,  who  had  much  wealth, 

259 


260 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


many  barns,  and  abundance  hoarded  up,  and  whose 
complete  satisfaction  lay  in  this  treasure.  He  thought 
because  he  had  an  unusually  large  crop  he  would  pull 
down  his  barns  and  build  greater  and  then  retire  and 
say :  “  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many 
years,  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be  merry  ” ;  but 
his  plans  did  not  last  over  night,  for  in  the  morning  he 
was  dead.  He  had  gone  where  riches  of  the  sort  that 
he  possessed  never  follow.  Job  never  based  his  plans 
for  the  future,  or  his  ideals  for  his  family,  upon  such 
a  low  material  basis.  Like  the  foolish  rich  man,  he 
had  great  possessions,  but  he  did  not  think  that  these 
could  supply  food  for  his  soul.  During  all  the  years 
in  which  Job  had  been  accumulating  wealth,  he  had 
been  laying  up  treasure  in  heaven  where  it  could  not 
be  corrupted  or  stolen. 

Nevertheless  during  the  days  of  Job’s  prosperity  he 
did  not  think  it  possible  that  he  should  ever  languish 
in  the  poverty  and  misery  of  dust  and  ashes,  wishing 
that  God  would  relieve  him  of  life  because  of  his  suf¬ 
fering  and  because  of  the  ridicule  which  was  cast  at 
him  by  former  friends.  He  did  not  know  the  future. 
He  learned,  as  few  men  have  ever  learned,  how  quickly 
riches  can  take  wings  and  fly  away.  He  learned  how 
suddenly  friends  can  become  persecutors.  He  learned 
how,  in  a  moment,  the  happiness  of  a  fond  parent  can 
be  turned  into  the  lamentation  of  a  forlorn  mourner, 
bereaved  of  all. 

it  is  sometimes  best  that  our  prosperity  shape 

BE  LIMITED  IN  ORDER  THAT  WE  MAY  BE  TRIED 

Although  it  was  altogether  unforeseen  by  Job  that 
he  should  suffer  the  loss  of  home  and  family,  yet  it  was 
best  for  him.  When  he  was  tried  he  was  to  come  forth 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


261 


as  gold.  It  takes  a  very  hot  fire  to  melt  the  gold  that 
it  may  be  separated  from  the  dross,  but  it  is  the  only 
way  by  which  it  can  be  purified.  Job  had  to  pass 
through  the  hottest  of  fires,  and  suffer  both  physical 
and  mental  anguish.  He  was  the  purer  in  the  end,  and 
he  is  the  greatest  teacher  for  us  today,  because  of  it. 

The  Word  says :  “  In  the  day  of  adversity  consider.” 
One  is  more  apt  to  take  time  to  consider  his  ways  when 
his  pocket  is  empty,  than  when  it  is  full.  There  are 
many  who,  in  the  days  of  their  prosperity,  say :  “  I 
shall  never  be  moved.”  But  though  man  proposes,  God 
disposes,  and  His  disposition  is  always  better  than  our 
proposition,  though  perhaps  it  would  not  have  been  our 
choice.  King  Manasseh  was  brought  to  repent  when 
he  was  taken  in  captivity  and  placed  among  the  thorns 
and  hurt  with  irons.  The  Prodigal  returned  when  his 
money  was  gone  and  he  had  to  eat  with  the  swine. 
The  thief  who  was  hung  beside  Jesus  did  not  turn 
away  from  his  burglary  and  repent  until  he  was  suffer¬ 
ing  upon  the  cruel  cross.  When  we  are  tried  may  we, 
like  Job,  come  forth  as  gold. 

IT  IS  BEST  THAT  OUR  PROSPERITY  SHALL,  BE  LIMITED 
IE  WE  IGNORE  OUR  RESPONSIBILITY  TO  GOD 

Job  did  not  ignore  his  responsibility,  nor  was  it  for 
that  reason  that  his  wealth  was  taken  away.  But  there 
are  few  like  Job,  who  consecrate  their  possessions  to 
God,  and  realize,  as  he  did,  that  all  that  we  have  we 
hold  as  stewards  for  God,  and  if  we  do  not  recognize 
our  responsibility  to  Him  He  may  take  from  us  our 
possessions  and  our  honour  as  He  did  from  Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar:  that  we  may  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth 
over  all  that  we  have,  and  that  He  giveth  or  withhold- 
eth  as  He  will.  We  may  come  to  see  like  Thomas 


262 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


Cromwell  when  we  have  lost  all,  “  Had  we  but  served 
our  God  with  half  the  zeal  we  served  ”  self  or  served 
another,  “  He  would  not  have  left  us  naked  in  our 
misery.” 

The  foolish  rich  man  had  ignored  his  responsibility 
to  God.  He  had  cultivated  the  ground  and  sowed  the 
seed,  but  the  greatest  factor  after  all  in  the  production 
of  his  wealth  had  been  God,  who  sent  the  rain,  and 
caused  the  sun  to  shine,  and  the  grain  to  grow.  The 
rich  man  never  seemed  to  think  that  in  place  of  all 
about  him  belonging  to  himself,  it  belonged  to  God. 

How  many  men  boast  that  they  are  self-made  men. 
How  many  take  all  the  credit  to  themselves  as  the 
architect  of  their  own  fortunes.  Whatever  is  due  in 
the  production  of  our  wealth,  to  human  genius,  is  from 
God,  for  He  made  the  mind  of  man.  Whatever  is  due 
to  physical  strength  is  from  God,  because  He  gives  us 
strength  for  our  work,  and  watches  over  even  the 
minutest  hairs  of  our  head.  It  would  be  far  better  for 
us  to  say :  “  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  but  unto  thy  name 
be  the  glory.” 

Multitudes  of  men  never  pray  to  God  about  their 
business,  because  they  seem  to  think  that  they  are  en¬ 
tirely  independent  of  Him.  Some  who  pray  for  pros¬ 
perity  never  return  to  thank  Him  when  He  gives  it. 
Few  ask  God  to  direct  them  in  disposing  of  their 
wealth.  That  is  the  last  thing  of  which  most  men  seem 
to  think.  Accumulation  is  their  great  aim,  and  they 
spend  the  most  of  it  on  their  own  indulgence  and  not 
for  the  glory  of  God.  We  speak  very  strongly  against 
those  men  who  have  been  guilty  of  embezzlement  in 
banks  or  commercial  institutions,  or  by  profiteering  in 
any  way  have  taken  that  which  does  not  belong  to 
them.  And  their  wealth,  however  it  may  be  procured 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


263 


in  an  illegitimate  manner,  is  deplorable  and  reprehen¬ 
sible.  But  are  there  not  many  who  are  loud  in  their 
denunciations  of  such  men  who  are  guilty  of  defalca¬ 
tion  before  God,  inasmuch  as  they  have  kept  for  them¬ 
selves,  and  spent  on  themselves,  the  wealth  which  God 
has  entrusted  to  them  for  the  glory  of  His  great  name? 

Property  has  its  responsibilities  as  well  as  its  rights. 
And  if  men  would  see  their  responsibility  more  fre¬ 
quently,  their  rights  with  respect  to  property  would  be 
more  highly  respected.  The  Communist  says  to  the 
Capitalist :  “  What  is  called  yours  is  mine,  and  I  will 
come  and  take  it  by  force.”  Such  methods  would  be 
theft.  The  Christian  says :  “  What  is  mine  is  God’s, 
and  I  will  use  it  under  the  direction  of  God  for  the 
good  of  others.  That  would  be  stewardship,  and  in 
such  a  plan  lies  the  cure  for  the  troubles  which  are  so 
hotly  contested  today.  There  are  many  cures  which 
are  suggested  which  would  never  cure,  because  they 
are  based  upon  selfishness.  When  one  does  not  realize 
his  responsibility  to  God  as  a  steward  it  is  best  for  him 
that  his  possessions  shall  be  limited,  in  order  that  he 
may  be  brought  to  repentance,  and  in  the  end  receive 
God’s  blessing  in  place  of  His  curse. 

How  much  better  would  it  have  been  for  Jehoiachim, 
King  of  Judah,  to  have  looked  upon  himself  as  God’s 
steward,  rather  than,  as  he  did,  thinking  he  was  perma¬ 
nently  settled  in  his  nest  of  ease.  Listen  to  what  God 
says  concerning  him :  “  I  spake  unto  thee  in  thy  pros¬ 
perity  ;  but  thou  saidst  I  will  not  hear :  this  hath  been 
thy  manner  from  thy  youth,  that  thou  obevedst  not 
my  voice.”  “  He  shall  be  buried  with  the  burial  of 
an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  forth  beyond  the  gates  of  Je¬ 
rusalem.”  “  O  inhabitants  of  Lebanon  that  makest 
thy  nest  in  the  cedars,  how  glorious  shalt  thou  be  when 


264 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


pangs  come  upon  thee,  the  pain  as  of  a  woman  in  tra¬ 
vail  !  ”  1  How  much  better  it  would  have  been  for 
Edom  to  have  humbled  himself  in  place  of  thinking 
that  he  dwelt  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks,  and  in  place  of 
boasting :  “  Who  shall  bring  me  down  to  the  ground  ?  ” 
God  said,  he  might  think  his  nest  secure,  but  it  was 
not :  “  Though  thou  exalt  thyself  as  the  eagle,  and 
though  thou  set  thy  nest  among  the  stars,  thence  will 
I  bring  thee  down,  saith  the  Lord.”  2 

IT  IS  BEST  THAT  OUR  PROSPERITY  SHALL  BE  LIMITED 

IE  WE  IGNORE  OUR  RESPONSIBILITY  TO  OTHER  MEN 

We  are  told  not  only  that  we  should  love  the  Lord 
our  God,  but  that  we  should  love  our  neighbour  as  our¬ 
selves.  How  valuable  it  was  to  Dorcas  and  her 
friends,  that  she  had  not  stored  all  the  goods  which 
she  possessed  in  safety  vaults,  or  packed  them  with 
moth  balls.  There  would  not  have  been  any  to  stand 
and  weep  and  appeal  to  the  Apostle  until  he  raised  her 
to  life  again.  She  had  been  laying  up  her  treasures 
where  moth  and  rust  do  not  corrupt.  What  we  have 
that  others  have  not  should  be  used,  not  for  our  own 
accumulation,  but  for  the  good  of  others.  If  we  have 
an  exceptional  endowment  it  carries  with  it  an  excep¬ 
tional  responsibility.  If  our  endowment  is  strength, 
we  are  called  upon  to  protect  the  weak,  if  it  is  wealth 
it  makes  us  responsible  for  the  care  of  the  poor,  if  it 
is  education  we  are  called  upon  to  teach  the  ignorant. 
If  we  ignore  our  responsibility  to  other  men,  then  our 
wealth,  if  we  have  it,  becomes  a  snare,  and  it  is  a  kind¬ 
ness  in  God  when  He  takes  it  from  us,  that  we  may 
learn  the  lesson  to  distinguish  between  the  true  treas¬ 
ure  and  the  false,  between  that  which  endures  and  that 


1  Jer.  22:21,  19,  23.  2  Obadiah  3,  4. 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


265 


which  decays.  The  wealth  of  the  world  ought  to  be 
valued  only  because  of  the  opportunity  it  gives  us  to 
honour  God  and  help  our  fellow  men.  If  we  look  upon 
it  thus,  then  the  gold  which  is  material  may  be  trans¬ 
posed  into  the  riches  which  is  spiritual  and  abiding. 
No  philosopher’s  stone  or  alchemist  can  equal  this,  for 
it  changes  material  silver  and  gold  into  immortal  riches 
which  endure  forever. 

Two  prominent  examples  of  men  who  ignored  their 
responsibility  to  other  men,  in  recent  years,  are  Wil¬ 
liam  II  of  Germany  and  the  Czar  Nicholas  II  of  Rus¬ 
sia.  They  appeared  to  have  places  of  great  might  and 
power.  They  had  immense  wealth  and  great  armies  at 
their  command.  But  God  ruled  upon  a  greater  throne 
than  either  of  them,  and  He  cut  off  their  prosperity 
and  gave  their  kingdom  to  others.  God  is  preparing 
this  world  so  that  some  day  all  will  have  a  fair  chance 
to  show  their  gratitude  to  Him,  and  also  to  their 
fellow  men. 

IT  IS  BEST  THAT  OUR  PROSPERITY  SHALL  BE  LIMITED  IP 
WE  ALLOW  OUR  MATERIAL  POSSESSIONS  TO 
DEPRIVE  US  OP  SOUL  NOURISHMENT 

Job  did  not,  with  all  of  his  riches  and  his  hopes  of 
prosperity  for  the  future,  allow  his  wealth  to  deprive 
him  of  soul  nourishment.  In  the  midst  of  his  pros¬ 
perity  and  his  pleasure  he  did  not  forget  God,  or  at¬ 
tempt  to  rush  the  world  so  fast  that  he  had  no  time 
for  thoughts  of  God.  But  Job  was  the  exception. 
There  are  very  few  men  who  look  over  their  posses¬ 
sions  and  feel  that  they  have  plenty  and  that  they  shall 
die  rich,  who  do  not  feel  self-satisfied,  and  fail  to  seek 
God  as  they  ought,  or  give  attention  to  their  soul  nour¬ 
ishment  as  they  should  do. 


266 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


Material  things  are  not  food  for  our  soul.  When 
we  incline  to  allow  them  to  be  so,  it  is  merciful  in  God 
to  limit  our  possessions.  Were  we  to  try  them  out  to 
the  extreme  in  the  effort  to  prove  them  satisfying,  we 
would  unquestionably  find  them,  as  Solomon  did,  “  all 
vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.”  Our  Lord  said  to 
Satan  when  tempted  with  material  things,  even  when 
He  was  in  need  of  them :  “  Man  shall  not  live  by 
bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of 
the  mouth  of  God.”  3  The  foolish  rich  man  made  the 
mistake  of  thinking  that  he  had  sufficient  for  both 
body  and  soul,  because  he  had  great  possessions.  He 
never  dreamed  of  finding  rich  food  where  Christ  found 
it.  When  Jesus  was  hungry  He  said :  “  My  meat  is  to 
do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work.” 
That  was  better  food  for  Him  than  the  bread  which 
came  from  the  merchants  of  Samaria. 

We  speak  of  men  being  rich  intellectually.  By  that 
we  mean  that  a  man  has  means  of  satisfying  the  crav¬ 
ings  of  his  mental  nature.  He  has  developed  his  men¬ 
tal  capacity  and  filled  his  mind  with  good  things.  We 
sometimes  speak  of  one  and  say,  he  is  deficient  in  in¬ 
tellectual  resources.  If  such  an  one  were  placed  in  a 
dungeon,  as  was  Bunyan,  he  would  have  nothing  to 
fall  back  on  to  satisfy  his  mind  and  to  give  him  com¬ 
fort.  What  would  have  been  Job’s  condition  when  he 
lost  all  that  he  had  of  material  possessions,  if  that  had 
constituted  his  main  source  of  wealth?  He  would 
likely  have  gone  mad.  He  had  a  mind  that  was  filled 
with  the  highest  and  purest  knowledge  of  God.  He 
had  a  conscience  which  was  clear ;  he  had  a  will  which 
was  accustomed  to  submit  to  God  and  delighted  in 
doing  so,  and  he  had  a  memory  which  was  full  of 


3  Matt.  4 :  4. 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


267 


lingering  thoughts  of  spiritual  feasts  with  God.  Job 
did  not  need  to  try  to  satisfy  his  hunger  with  a  gold 
coin,  or  quench  his  thirst  with  an  Indian  pearl.  Even 
at  the  height  of  his  sufferings  and  misery  he  could 
allow  his  thoughts  to  soar  on  high,  and  rejoicing  in 
the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God,  exclaim :  “  I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the 
latter  day  upon  the  earth.  And  though  after  my  death 
worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  without  my  flesh  I  shall 
see  God:  whom  mine  eyes  shall  see  for  myself  and  not 
a  stranger;  though  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me.” 

In  his  “  Course  of  Time  ”  Pollock  sings: 

“  Attempt  how  monstrous  and  how  surely  vain ! 

With  things  of  earthly  sort,  with  aught  but  God 
With  aught  but  moral  excellence,  truth  and  love. 

To  satisfy  and  fill  the  immortal  soul. 

Attempt,  vain  inconceivably !  attempt 
To  satisfy  the  ocean  with  a  drop, 

To  marry  immortality  to  death, 

And  with  the  unsubstantial  shade  of  time 
To  fill  the  embrace  of  all  eternity !  ”  4 

Our  souls  are  never  satisfied  until  they  find  satis¬ 
faction  and  rest  in  God. 

IT  IS  BEST  THAT  OUR  PROSPERITY  SHALL  BE  LIMITED 
IN  TIME,  IE  WE  THINK  THAT  OUR  MATERIAL 
POSSESSIONS  WILL  BE  OURS  EOREVER 

Job  did  not  intend  to  carry  his  possessions  with  him 
into  eternity.  Yet  with  all  his  uprightness,  he  was  not 
fit  for  heaven.  There  was  a  lesson  in  humility,  and  a 
certain  amount  of  pruning  that  Job  needed  before  he 
was  fitted  for  the  best  that  God  had  in  store  for  him. 
Even  as  good  a  man  as  Job  was  better  after  he  had 


4  Bk.  4. 


268 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


been  deprived  of  his  earthly  possessions  for  a  time 
until  he  got  away  from  the  idea  that  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  die  in  his  nest.  But  how  many  men  of 
wealth  tend  rather  to  the  extreme  of  the  foolish  rich 
man.  He  thought  that  when  he  should  die  in  his  nest 
that  he  would  be  able  to  go  on  enjoying  a  place  of  dis¬ 
tinction  and  happiness  forever.  All  of  his  wealth  could 
not  have  bribed  the  messenger  of  death  to  delay  one 
hour  when  God  called  and  said :  “  This  night.”  There 
is  a  Spanish  proverb  which  runs :  “  There  are  no  pock¬ 
ets  in  a  shroud.”  The  modern  millionaire  has  died. 
Some  one  asks,  “  how  much  did  he  leave  ?  ”  Another 
replies :  “  All  he  had.”  Where  does  wealth  stand  at 
the  hour  when  our  souls  are  called  to  depart  from  this 
world  ?  God  said  to  the  rich  man :  “  Whose  shall  these 
things  be  which  thou  hast  provided  ?  ”  The  moral 
which  Jesus  draws  from  him  is  this :  “  So  is  he  that 
heapeth  up  treasure  to  himself,  and  is  not  rich  toward 
God.”  If  we  are  rich  toward  God  the  earthly  treasure 
will  not  seem  important.  If  we  are  rich  toward  God 
we  will  learn  that  we  can  get  the  most  out  of  our  riches 
by  spending  them  for  God. 

If  some  men  who  die  rich  could  only  appear  again 
upon  earth  and  see  how  they  are  treated  after  they 
have  gone,  they  would  desire  that  they  had  never  been 
known  to  have  wealth.  When  their  relatives  begin  to 
fight  over  their  possessions,  and  witnesses  begin  to  try 
to  prove  that  the  man  had  so  little  gray  matter  that  he 
did  not  know  how  to  make  a  will,  therefore  it  should 
be  broken:  and  when  all  the  queer  traits  of  character, 
the  evil  habits,  and  the  family  secrets  are  made  known 
to  the  world;  if  he  could  know  all  this  he  would  be 
glad  if  he  could  have  destroyed  his  wealth  ere  he  had 
known  what  it  was  to  treasure  it. 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


269 


We  need  not  merely  ask,  whose  shall  these  things  be 
when  we  have  gone?  Whose  are  they  while  we  live? 
They  are  God’s,  and  should  be  used  for  God.  When 
David,  who  had  gathered  material  for  the  building  of 
the  temple,  finally  brought  it  out  and  consecrated  it  to 
God,  the  people  followed  his  example.  When  he  pre¬ 
sented  his  gift  to  God,  he  said :  “  All  things  come  of 
thee,  and  of  thine  own  have  we  given  thee :  for  we  are 
strangers  before  thee  and  sojourners,  as  were  all  our 
fathers;  our  days  on  the  earth  are  as  a  shadow,  and 
there  is  none  abiding.”  5  If  there  were  more  of  that 
spirit,  we  would  feel  that  the  incoming  of  the  kingdom 
would  be  nearer  than  it  is  today:  there  would  be 
abundance  to  finance  the  kingdom  and  the  kingdom 
work.  The  people  of  God  would  be  far  happier,  as  a 
whole,  than  they  are,  because  they  would  be  placing 
their  trust,  not  in  uncertain  riches,  but  they  would  be 
rich  toward  God.  They  would  have  a  greater  posses¬ 
sion,  a  soul  which  the  world  cannot  retain  nor  take 
from  them,  when  they  are  leaving  it  never  to  return. 

The  guiding  hand,  the  infinite  mind,  which  takes 
our  thoughts  away  from,  and  places  them  upon,  higher 
things  than  our  present  possessions,  is  merciful  and 
wise,  even  though  it  may  be  that  in  teaching  us  the 
lesson  He  shall  deprive  us  of  them  now.  Better  be 
without  them  altogether  than  learn  to  put  our  trust  in 
them.  A  few  years  ago,  Mr.  F.  Bettex,  in  attempting 
to  turn  the  rising  tide  of  materialism  in  Germany,  said 
this:  “  Years  ago  I  was  on  a  visit  to  a  friend,  a  coun¬ 
try  gentleman,  when  I  happened  to  speak  of  paradise. 
He  smiled,  and,  pointing  out  of  the  window  over  his 
extensive  estate,  cried,  4  There  is  my  paradise !  ’  And 
certainly  it  was  a  paradise ;  vineyards  and  meadows, 


5  1  Chron.  29:14,  15. 


270 


LIMITATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY 


framed  by  fruit-trees,  lay  in  the  sunshine  sloping  down 
to  the  blue  lake,  and  above  them  the  snowy  Alpine 
peaks  rose  into  the  blue  sky!  A  few  years  afterwards 
I  returned  to  the  place ;  the  lake  still  lay  smiling  in  the 
sunshine;  the  trees  were  laden  with  blossoms;  but  the 
owner  of  it  all  sat  in  his  room,  a  broken-hearted  man, 
the  picture  of  misery.  His  son  had  been  drowned  in 
the  lake  before  his  eyes;  a  daughter  had  made  an  un¬ 
happy  marriage,  and  he  himself  was  slowly  dying  of 
an  incurable  disease.  And  when  his  younger  daughter 
came  into  his  room  and  said,  ‘  Father,  I  am  going  to 
drive  into  town ;  what  shall  I  bring  you  ?  ’  he  answered, 
gloomily,  ‘  A  pistol ! 5  ”6  In  what  a  miserable  condition 
is  the  man  who  in  this  life  only  has  hope!  There  is 
perhaps  no  subject  which  our  Lord  dwelt  upon  more 
frequently,  and  impressed  more  vividly  than  that  of  the 
insecurity  of  trust  in  riches.  And  yet  it  seems  that 
men  are  almost  as  slow  to  believe  His  warnings  as 
when  He  walked  this  earth  and  plead  with  them,  telling 
them  how  they  might  escape  the  end  of  the  foolish  rich 
man,  or  of  that  of  Dives,  or  of  the  publicans. 

May  God  give  us  such  high  spiritual  attainments, 
and  such  true  consecration,  that  we  shall  not  ape  the 
world  in  its  attainments  or  ideals:  but  shall  seek  first 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  knowing 
that  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  us.  God  has 
provided  no  permanent  abode  for  us  upon  this  earth, 
which  we  are  sure  shall  be  ours,  even  through  our 
short  lives  here :  but  we  are  sojourners  as  all  our 
fathers  were.  May  we  learn,  like  Paul,  in  whatsoever 
state  we  are,  therein  to  be  content.  May  we  have 
perfect  peace  of  soul,  so  that  we  can  say:  “To  me  to 
live  is  Christ,  to  die  is  gain.” 


6  Science  and  Christianity,  p.  302. 


XXI 

A  REASONABLE  REASONER 
Job  32-37 


THE  argument  between  Job  and  his  three  friends 
has  ended.  Zophar  made  but  two  speeches,  and 
Bildad’s  third  was  very  short.  Zophar  seemed 
the  most  certain  of  his  ground  when  he  began,  but  he 
gave  up  the  soonest.  They  were  not  able  to  convince 
Job,  and  perhaps  they  had  come  to  see  that  their 
reasoning  was  not  good. 

A  fourth  speaker  now  appears.  He  is  not  mentioned 
before  this  in  the  narrative,  or  afterward.  Because  he 
is  not  introduced  at  the  first  of  this  book,  as  were  the 
three  friends  of  Job,  and  because  his  argument  is  not 
reviewed  later,  there  are  many  of  a  critical  mind  who 
have  declared  that  this  section  of  the  book  of  Job  is  an 
interpolation,  that  it  did  not  belong  originally  to  the 
book,  but  was  added  by  some  one  many  years  later.  It 
is  also  alleged  that  there  are  Arimean  words,  which 
were  used  by  Elihu,  which  show  that  he  wrote  at  a  later 
date.  This  argument  has  been  so  framed  by  some,  that 
it  has  made  his  peculiarities  of  diction  appear  in  a 
greatly  exaggerated  form.1  Would  it  not  rather  be 
unnatural  if  there  were  no  differences  of  diction  when 
compared  with  those  men  who  had  spoken  before? 
The  genealogy  of  Elihu  is  given  to  indicate  his  nation¬ 
ality.  He  was  a  Buzite,  the  son  or  Barachel.  Buz  was 
the  second  son  of  Nahor,  the  brother  of  Abraham. 

1  See  Introduction — The  Philological  Argument. 

271 


272 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER 


There  are  many  conjectures  as  to  where  Elihu  came 
from  and  who  he  was.  It  is  useless  for  us  to  con¬ 
jecture,  as  we  are  not  told.  He  is  not  the  only  char¬ 
acter  in  the  Bible  who  is  mentioned,  whose  surround¬ 
ing  record  is  not  given.  But  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  such  a  man  should  be  there,  and  that  he  would 
have  truer  views  of  life  and  of  God  than  those  of  Job’s 
friends  who  came  from  a  distance.  He  may  have  been 
one  of  the  servants  of  Job  who  escaped  from  the  wreck 
of  his  property,  one  who  had  a  godly  training  under 
the  great  patriarch.  He  may  have  been  one  who  had 
remained  with  Job  through  all  of  his  suffering  and  had 
ministered  to  him,  and  had  heard  the  conversation  be¬ 
tween  him  and  the  three  friends  who  had  come  from 
a  distance.  Elihu  was  evidently  the  son  of  pious  par-, 
ents.  He  was  the  son  of  Barachel,  whose  name  means 
“  God  blesses.”  The  meaning  of  his  own  name  is 
equivalent  to  saying :  “  God  is  my  God.” 

The  brief  introduction  which  we  have,  before  Elihu 
begins  to  speak,  does  not  serve  to  impress  us  favour¬ 
ably  concerning  his  character,  or  to  arouse  our  sympa¬ 
thetic  interest  in  what  he  shall  say.  He  seems  like  one 
of  those  men  who  have  an  outward  form  of  politeness, 
who  will  hold  their  tongues  until  an  opportunity  is 
given  them  to  speak:  but  who,  in  the  meantime,  are 
pacing  back  and  forth  muttering  to  themselves,  and 
gritting  their  teeth,  to  keep  from  breaking  forth  in 
anger.  However,  before  we  have  heard  the  conclusion 
of  Elihu’s  argument,  we  conclude  that  he  did  more 
clear  thinking  than  any  of  the  other  friends  who  had 
spoken,  and  that  he  had  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of 
life  and  of  theology  than  they.  When  a  man  begins  an 
argument  in  a  rage  we  usually  discount  his  speech  to  a 
large  extent.  The  anger  of  Elihu,  however,  may  have 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER  273 

been,  in  part,  righteous  anger  for  the  manner  in  which 
the  friends  who  had  spoken  had  dealt  with  a  pious 
man  who  was  in  the  midst  of  terrible  suffering,  was 
enough  to  stir  up  almost  any  man  who  knew  Job  well, 
and  who  thought  deeply  concerning  God’s  ways  with 
men.  filihu  was  angry,  both  with  Job  and  with  his 
three  friends.  He  did  not  like  Job’s  attitude  toward 
God,  nor  did  he  like  the  attitude  of  the  three  friends 
toward  Job.  They  had  accused  Job  of  being  so  guilty 
that  he  brought  the  suffering  upon  himself,  and  yet 
they  had  not  been  able  to  bring  proof  to  substantiate 
their  assertions.  Elihu,  who  was  younger  than  the 
others,  in  order  to  be  polite,  waited  until  they  had 
completed  their  argument  before  he  began. 

The  first  chapter  of  Elihu’s  speech  is  introductory.2 
He  apologizes  for  his  part  in  the  argument  by  stating, 
that  days  should  speak  and  multitude  of  years  should 
teach  wisdom.  That  is,  the  older  the  man,  and  the 
more  experienced  he  is ;  he  should  be  better  qualified  to 
speak  and  should  abound  with  wisdom. 

Elihu  had  heard  one  of  the  friends  of  Job  speak 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  own  experience,  and  he  had 
become  entirely  dissatisfied  with  his  conclusions.  He 
decided  that  experience  is  not  always  a  true  teacher, 
and  that  one  has  to  go  beyond  his  own  experience  for 
sound  principles.  Man  must  seek  guidance  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  seek  wisdom  from  the  fountain 
head  of  all  wisdom.  Sometimes  the  great  men  are  not 
wise,  nor  do  the  aged  always  judge  rightly.3  Younger 
though  he  was,  Elihu  had  lived  closer  to  God,  he  had 
perhaps  had  more  pious  training  from  his  youth,  and 
had  a  truer  view  of  theology.  Paul  said  to  Timothy, 
who  was  then  a  young  man  just  beginning  the  work  of 

2  Chap.  32.  3  32 ;  9. 


274 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER 


the  ministry:  “  Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth.”  Tim¬ 
othy  might  be  younger  than  many  whom  he  would  be 
called  upon  to  teach.  But  that  need  not  cause  him  to 
hesitate  to  speak  with  assurance  concerning  Christ  and 
His  law.  He  had  his  enlightenment  from  a  higher 
source  than  many  of  the  old  men.  They  might  deny 
Christ :  they  might  be  entirely  wrong  concerning  many 
doctrines  of  the  Bible.  He  could  not  only  teach  them, 
but  he  could  teach  with  authority  as  though  he  were  an 
older  man.  God  is  not  taught  by  experience,  and  any¬ 
one  who  speaks,  either  by  inspiration  or  from  inspira¬ 
tion,  has  as  his  teacher  the  wisdom  of  one  who  has 
more  knowledge  than  the  accumulated  experience  of 
the  ages.  The  natural  man  is.  no  more  capable  of 
teaching  without  guidance  from  on  high  than  is  the 
sun  dial  of  informing  us  of  the  hour  of  the  day,  when 
the  sun  does  not  shine  upon  it. 

The  three  friends  of  Job,  although  they  could  not 
convince  him,  and  were  outclassed  in  the  argument, 
would  not  admit  that  they  were  mistaken.  It  is  said 
that  the  three  words :  “  I  was  mistaken,”  are  the  three 
hardest  words  to  pronounce  in  the  English  language. 
But  when  we  acknowledge  that  we  were  mistaken,  we 
are  wiser  than  we  were  before  to  own  it,  and  humbler 
than  we  were  before  to  confess  it.  Goldsmith  remarks, 
that  Frederick  the  Great  did  himself  more  honour  by 
his  letter  to  the  senate  stating  that  he  had  lost  a  battle 
by  his  own  fault,  than  by  all  the  victories  he  had  won. 

Elihu  argues  with  Job,  that  afflictions  are  disciplin¬ 
ary  and  are  designed  to  produce  humility  and  penitence. 
God’s  great  purpose  is  to  take  away  pride  from  man 
and  produce  humility.  The  friends  of  Job  were  mis¬ 
taken  when  they  maintained  that  the  cause  of  his  af¬ 
fliction  was  his  great  wickedness.  Job  was  also  guilty, 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER 


275 


in  that  when  he  was  afflicted  he  laid  unjust  charges 
against  God. 

God,  in  His  providential  dealing  with  us,  may  be 
showing  us  far  more  than  w^e  are  willing  to  see.  When 
Ferdinand  Magellan  first  landed  at  the  Ladrone  Is¬ 
lands,  they  were  inhabited  by  a  tribe  of  Indians  whose 
curiosity  was  so  extravagant,  that  when  they  were 
shot  through  with  arrows,  they  drew  them  from  their 
bodies  and  gazed  at  them  with  an  intentness  which 
seemed  to  overcome  all  sense  of  pain,  until  they 
dropped  down  and  expired.  In  like  manner  when  the 
arrows  of  the  Almighty  are  within  us,  it  should  not  be 
our  first  and  chief  concern  to  mitigate  the  pain  we 
suffer,  but  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  affliction.  Thus 
messengers  of  death  to  us  may  often  be  converted  into 
messengers  of  mercy. 

It  has  been  said  that  a  Christian’s  life  is  laid  in  the 
loom  of  time  to  a  pattern  which  he  does  not  see.  On 
one  side  of  the  loom  is  sorrow,  and  on  the  other  is  joy; 
and  the  shuttle  struck  alternately  by  each,  flies  back 
and  forth  carrying  the  thread,  which  is  white  or  black 
as  the  pattern  needs.  In  the  end  when  God  shall  lift 
up  the  finished  garment,  and  all  of  its  changing  hues 
shall  glance  out,  it  will  then  appear  that  the  deep  and 
dark  colours  were  as  needful  to  beauty  as  the  bright 
ones.  Even  godly  men,  when  afflicted,  often  do  not 
see  God’s  hand  in  their  suffering  as  they  ought  to  do. 
Job  was  not  guilty  of  all  that  was  charged  against  him 
by  his  three  friends,  but  he  had  nevertheless  sinned. 
He  had  put  too  much  confidence  in  himself,  and  he 
would  not  humble  himself  as  he  ought  to  have  done, 
nor  would  he  listen  to  the  reasoning  of  a  man  though 
he  was  ever  so  faithful,  in  trying  to  lead  him  to  look 
upon  his  afflictions  in  the  right  spirit.  Not  until  God 


276 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER 


spoke  directly  to  Job,  and  rebuked  him  severely  for  his 
lack  of  repentance  and  for  his  confidence  in  himself, 
did  he  bow  low  before  God  in  humble  penitence. 

One  of  the  most  serious  errors  into  which  Job  Was 
accused,  by  Blihu,  of  falling,  was,  that  of  having  a 
proud,  scorning  spirit  on  account  of  the  divine  deal¬ 
ings  with  him,  when  he  affirmed  that  it  would  be  of  no 
advantage  for  a  man  to  be  pious,  and  to  delight  himself 
in  God.4  It  is  not  uncommon  for  men  to  assert  that 
they  have  never  done  anything  which  deserves  so  much 
suffering  or  affliction,  and  that  God  is  not  good  be¬ 
cause  He  has  sent  it.  It  is  sinful  for  any  man  so  to 
speak,  but  especially  so  for  a  man  like  Job;  with  his 
knowledge  of  right  and  wrong;  with  the  mercy  that 
he  had  received  from  God,  and  with  the  assurance  of 
God’s  love,  to  fall  into  such  an  error.  True,  we  can¬ 
not  be  sufficiently  pious  that  we  shall  work  our  way 
into  heaven,  but  we  can  try  to  be  so  Christ-like  that  we 
shall  receive  favour  and  forgiveness  and  mercy  from 
God.  We  can  cling  so  closely  to  Christ,  that  we  can 
say  like  Paul :  “  When  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong.” 
We  can  come  to  have  the  assurance  of  the  saintly 
apostle,  if  we  are  intimately  united  with  Christ,  so  that 
we  are  persuaded  that  nothing  can  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 
Although  we  cannot  save  ourselves  by  good  works, 
piety  is  of  value.  We  can  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven, 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal. 

Another  lesson  that  is  evidently  taught  in  this  argu¬ 
ment  is  :  there  is  so  much  in  the  divine  government 
which  is  inscrutable,  and  there  are  such  evidences  of 
God’s  wisdom  and  power,  that  we  should  be  ready  to 


4  34:9,  10. 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER 


277 


submit  to  His  superior  wisdom,  though  we  cannot  un¬ 
derstand.  As  one  of  the  friends  of  Job  asserted  in 
an  earlier  argument :  “  Canst  thou  by  searching  find 
out  God?  canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  per¬ 
fection  ?  It  is  as  high  as  heaven ;  what  canst  thou  do  ? 
deeper  than  hell ;  what  canst  thou  know  ?  The  measure 
thereof  is  longer  than  the  earth,  and  broader  than 
the  sea.” 

Often  in  trouble  we  pray  for  deliverance.  If  it  is 
sickness  we  pray  that  our  loved  one  may  be  restored : 
if  it  is  sorrow  we  pray  that  God  will  give  us  relief :  but 
usually  we  add,  not  my  will  but  thine  be  done.  It  may 
not  be  according  to  God’s  plan  to  grant  us  relief  soon. 
It  was  not  in  the  case  of  Job.  The  solution  was  too 
hard  for  him  to  see  at  that  time.  He  began  to  feel 
that  there  was  to  be  no  relief.  Nevertheless  relief 
came.  The  ways  of  God  were  strange,  the  plan  of  God 
was  beyond  his  understanding,  but  it  was  all  for  God’s 
glory  and  his  good  in  the  end.  There  will  be  many 
things  in  our  lives  which  we  cannot  understand.  There 
will  be  times  when  we  would  that  we  could  open  the 
book  of  God’s  decrees  and  get  a  foretaste  of  the  future, 
but  it  is  a  beneficent  plan  of  God  that  He  has  not 
opened  the  future  to  us.  Sometimes  there  may  be  sor¬ 
row  and  bereavement  in  store  and  we  would  be  caused 
many  added  days  of  worry  if  we  knew  it  beforehand. 
We  may  wish  that  trouble  would  be  taken  away.  If  it 
is  to  be  allowed  to  remain  it  would  not  bring  us  relief 
to  know  it,  if  it  is  to  be  taken  away  we  will  know  it 
without  having  ability  to  prophecy  of  the  future. 

Elihu  paused  several  times  in  the  course  of  his 
speech  to  see  if  Job  had  any  answer  to  make,  and  when 
he  did  not,  he  proceeded.  He  made  a  longer  argument 
and  a  better  one,  than  any  of  the  three  friends  of  Job. 


278 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER 


His  was  introductory  to  the  solution,  as  it  is  given  by 
God  in  the  section  which  follows,  when  he  spoke  out 
of  the  whirlwind. 

When  God  spoke  to  Elijah  in  the  cave  He  caused  the 
earth  to  quake,  but  that  did  not  frighten  the  great 
prophet :  then  He  caused  the  storm  to  sweep  the  moun¬ 
tain  side,  but  still  the  stalwart  prophet  was  not  alarmed. 
At  last,  when  God  began  to  speak  Himself,  though  in 
a  still  small  voice,  the  great  prophet  fell  on  his  face  and 
heard  Him  with  the  greatest  reverence  and  humility. 
As  Elihu  was  closing  his  argument  and  drawing  some 
illustrations  from  God’s  works  of  providence,  he  was 
showing  Job  that  he  could  not  expect  to  comprehend 
the  workings  of  God  in  their  fulness  and  mystery; 
that  when  the  frost  and  the  rain  come,  sometimes  it 
is  sent  for  correction  and  sometimes  it  is  for  the  bene¬ 
fit  of  the  land,  but  ever  in  His  mercy.  As  Elihu  spoke, 
the  storm  drew  on.  The  clouds  began  to  roll  up  in  the 
heavens,  the  lightning  to  dart  across  the  sky,  the  wind 
to  blow  and  the  rain  to  fall.  His  speech  was  brought 
to  a  speedy  close,  with  the  warning  to  fear  God  for 
He  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  He  is  beyond  our  un¬ 
derstanding,  He  is  excellent  in  His  power  and  fair  in 
His  judgment,  and  in  the  exacting  of  justice.  He  has 
always  a  purpose  in  affliction,  it  does  not  come  indis¬ 
criminately,  nor  does  it  come  upon  the  pious  without 
purpose. 

Just  at  this  juncture,  when  the  storm  had  come  on  in 
full  blast,  and  the  thunder  was  reverberating,  and  the 
lightning  flashing,  the  Lord  Himself,  who  had  been  a 
witness  to  all  the  suffering  of  Job,  and  who  had  heard 
all  the  argument  of  his  friends,  began  to  speak  to  him 
out  of  the  whirlwind.  To  God  belonged  the  right  to 
rebuke  the  great  Emir  of  Uz,  who  had  not  yet  humbled 


A  REASONABLE  REASONER 


279 


himself  sufficiently  in  His  just  and  holy  presence.  Job 
could  not  be  moved  by  all  the  arguments  of  men,  he 
was  no  more  terrified  by  the  storm  than  was  the 
prophet  Elijah  in  later  years:  yet  when  the  voice  of 
God  began  to  fall  upon  his  ear,  when  the  Almighty 
began  to  rebuke  him,  he  also  was  like  the  old  prophet 
in  the  cave,  he  also  was  dumb,  he  abhorred  himself  and 
repented  in  dust  and  ashes. 

God  is  speaking  to  us,  today,  through  the  great 
patriarch  of  old.  God  often  speaks  to  us  in  His  provi¬ 
dence  when  He  sends  sickness,  or  sorrow,  or  when  He 
calls  us  to  mourn  for  our  loved  ones.  May  we  hear 
the  voice  of  God  speaking  to  us.  May  we  likewise 
humble  ourselves  before  Him,  knowing  that  His  ways 
are  not  our  ways,  and  that  His  ways  are  wiser  and 
purer  and  more  far-sighted  than  ours:  and  however 
we  may  fail  to  see  what  the  value  of  it  all  will  be  to 
us  or  to  the  world,  yet  in  the  end  it  will  all  redound  to 
our  good  and  His  glory,  if  we  will  humble  ourselves 
and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.  Not  in  His  anger,  but 
in  His  mercy,  is  He  calling  to  His  people  to  repent, 
while  still  the  opportunity  of  grace  affords.  There¬ 
fore  :  “  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  un¬ 
righteous  man  his  thoughts :  and  let  him  return  unto 
the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him :  and  to  our 
God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon.  For  my  thoughts 
are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways, 
saith  the  Lord.”  5 


5  Isa.  55 :  7,  8. 


XXII 

THE  GREAT  ARBITER 
Job  38-42 


AT  the  close  of  the  former  passage  the  storm  was 
already  breaking.  As  Elihu  was  closing  his 
speech  the  clouds  began  to  gather  in  the  sky, 
the  lightning  began  to  flash,  the  thunder  to  roll  and 
the  wind  to  blow.  Amidst  the  darkness  of  the  storm 
there  appeared  a  bright  light  in  the  north,  indicating 
the  approach  of  the  Most  High.  Elihu  hastily  con¬ 
cluded  his  speech,  permitting  God  to  speak  in  His 
awful  majesty  from  the  whirlwind. 

In  most  disputes  there  is  a  contest  as  to  who  shall 
have  the  last  word:  but  in  this  one  the  three  friends 
seemed  ready  to  yield  that  privilege  to  Job,  seeing  they 
were  unable  to  answer  him.  Job  yielded  to  Elihu  as  he 
could  not  answer  one  who  was  presenting  the  matter 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  Maker.  But  even  Elihu  at 
once  yielded  to  God  when  He  appeared  to  speak  di¬ 
rectly  to  Job.  The  judge  upon  the  bench  must  have 
the  last  word.  The  others  in  the  controversy  stood 
back  in  awe  when  the  great  Judge  began  to  speak.  Job 
had  often  appealed  to  God,  and  had  spoken  boldly  of 
how  he  would  order  his  cause  before  Him,  as  a  prince 
he  would  go  near  to  Him,1  but  when  it  came  to  the 
test,  and  God  began  to  speak.  Job  had  nothing  to  say 
in  self-defence. 

God  showed  Job  wherein  he  had  erred  in  his  pas- 


1 31 : 32. 


280 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


281 


sionate  and  uncontrolled  statements  concerning  Him. 
He  brought  him  to  an  humble  state  of  mind  by  calling 
upon  him  to  compare  God’s  eternity  with  his  own  time, 
God’s  omniscience  with  his  own  ignorance,  and  God’s 
omnipotence  with  his  own  weakness. 

god's  eternity  compared  with  man's  time 

God  said  to  Job :  “  Gird  up  now  thy  loins  like  a  man ; 
for  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  answer  thou  me."  2 
That  is,  prepare,  make  ready  in  your  utmost  show  of 
strength,  for  your  manhood  will  be  tried  to  the  extreme 
in  the  contest  with  God.  Let  us  remember,  that  when 
this  challenge  was  written  Genesis  was  not  then  in 
print.  Job  did  not  have  the  brief  review  of  the  creation 
which  we  have  in  the  Word  of  God. 

The  irony  is  keen  and  searching.  God  said : 
"  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
earth?  declare,  if  thou  hast  understanding.  Who  hath 
laid  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou  knowest?  or  who 
hath  stretched  the  line  upon  it?  Whereupon  are  the 
foundations  thereof  fastened?  or  who  laid  the  corner¬ 
stone  thereof,  when  the  morning  stars  sang  together, 
and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy?  "  Again  and 
again  men  have  praised  the  book  of  Job  as  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  piece  of  literature,  and  the  section  that  is  particu¬ 
larly  considered  is  that  which  is  before  us.  Truly  it 
is  a  most  remarkable  gem  of  literature,  as  it  describes 
the  origin  of  the  earth,  the  stars,  and  the  animals  of 
the  earth.  No  one  of  us  could  write  such  a  wonderful 
description  of  them,  or  dress  them  up  in  such  a  beau¬ 
tiful  and  awe-inspiring  garb.  But  if  beautiful  lan¬ 
guage  is  all  that  one  sees  in  this  part  of  the  book,  in 
fact  if  that  is  uppermost  in  one’s  mind  as  he  reads  and 


2  38:3. 


282 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


studies  it,  he  is  missing  the  intention  of  the  author,  and 
he  should,  like  Job,  be  brought  face  to  face  with  God, 
that  he  may  see  Him  in  His  majesty  and  power 
and  glory. 

You  may  be  reckoned  a  wise  man  fti  Uz,  said  God, 
you  may  be  old  and  experienced,  you  may  have  sat  as 
a  judge  among  the  men  of  the  east,  and  they  may  have 
looked  upon  you  as  an  oracle:  but  where  were  you 
when  the  earth  was  brought  into  being  ?  Did  you  help 
to  measure  it  and  determine  the  size  that  it  should  be? 
Can  you  point  out  its  foundation,  on  what  does  it  rest? 
Who  began  the  work  and  who  completed  it?  Were 
you  then  living  and  observing,  and  can  you  tell  all 
about  its  construction,  its  size,  and  the  substance  of 
which  it  is  made  ?  Did  you  hear  the  morning  stars  and 
the  sons  of  God  sing  together,  rejoicing  because  the 
cornerstone  of  the  earth  was  laid?  Were  you  there  to 
hear  the  angels  sing  for  joy  when  they  saw  the  marvel¬ 
ous  work  of  God  in  the  completed  worlds  ? 

Where  were  you  when  God  gathered  the  waters  of 
the  sea  together  and  shut  it  up  as  with  great  doors? 
When  He  stretched  it  out  so  far  that  it  seems  to  dis¬ 
appear  in  the  clouds  and  descends  to  the  deeps  of  dark¬ 
ness?  How  can  God  control  it  as  though  it  were  a 
little  child  wrapped  in  swaddling  bands  of  darkness, 
and  covered  over  with  the  clouds?  Could  you  say,  as 
God  said  to  the  sea,  this  is  your  limit,  hitherto  shalt 
thou  come,  but  no  further;  and  here  shall  thy  proud 
waves  be  stayed?  If  you  were  living  then,  and  under¬ 
stood  all  this,  perhaps  you  have  wisdom  so  that  you 
can  understand  the  infinite  times  and  ways  of  God? 

Do  you  know  the  origin  of  the  day?  Or  were  you 
ever  down  in  the  depths  of  the  sea  to  know  the  source 
of  its  springs?  Can  you  tell  how  it  was  first  made? 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER  283 

Are  there  springs  beneath  it?  Who  supplies  it  with 
water  ? 

Do  you  know  what  awaits  you  after  this  life,  in 
eternity  beyond  as  well  as  in  eternity  before?  Can 
you  tell  where  man  goes  or  what  is  the  condition  at 
death  ?  Have  you  the  infinite  knowledge  and  existence 
to  explore  the  gates  of  eternity? 

Where  does  darkness  go  when  it  is  dispelled  ? 
Where  does  it  remain  during  the  day  ?  After  all,  com¬ 
mon  as  light  is,  can  you  explain  its  origin?  Or  per¬ 
chance  you  were  born  when  light  began  to  appear,  and 
hence  you  can  trace  its  beginning? 

Can  you  search  out  the  sources  of  the  snow  and  hail  ? 
Whence  comes  such  great  quantities  of  snow?  Can 
you  make  its  origin  clear  to  all  of  your  friends?  What 
determines  when  it  shall  hail,  or  when  it  shall  snow? 
God  uses  the  hail  sometimes  as  a  means  of  chastening 
His  people,  sometimes  to  enable  them  to  defeat  their 
enemies.  Can  you  direct  it  in  either  case  to  suit  your 
pleasure  ? 

Can  you  go  out  in  mind  and  power  into  the  desert, 
beyond  the  extent  where  foot  of  man  has  trod,  and 
tell,  who  commands  the  rain  to  fall  there  ?  Who  makes 
the  bud  to  grow  in  the  jungle  or  the  uninhabited  por¬ 
tions  of  the  earth?  When  did  it  first  rain?  Who  first 
formed  the  ice  and  frost? 

Or  if  you  choose  to  go  out  into  space  beyond  the 
reach  of  man,  among  the  stars,  who  directs  them? 
Can  you  bind  the  cluster  of  the  Pleiades,  that  small 
cluster  of  the  stars  which  is  supposed  to  introduce  the 
spring  with  all  of  its  pleasures  and  joys?  Or  can  you 
loose  the  bands  of  Orion,  that  greatest  cluster,  which 
is  declared  to  introduce  the  cold  and  hardships  of  win¬ 
ter  ?  Can  you  control  the  stars,  either  many  or  few,  or 


284 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


can  you  take  charge  of  the  change  of  seasons,  either 
spring  or  winter?  Is  your  power  sufficient  to  control 
these?  Canst  thou  lead  forth  the  Mazzaroth  in  their 
season  ?  Or  canst  thou  guide  the  Bear  with  her  train  ? 
In  other  words,  what  control  have  you  over,  or  under¬ 
standing  of,  the  management  of  the  stars  away  to  the 
south,  or  to  the  north  in  space?  If  you  have  infinite 
wisdom  you  know.  Does  your  mind  extend  far 
enough,  or  broad  enough,  to  know  the  laws  and  ordi¬ 
nances  of  heaven?  Is  your  voice  loud  enough  that  it 
will  carry  to  the  clouds,  and  can  you  direct  them? 
Can  you  command  the  lightnings,  can  you  send  them 
out  at  your  pleasure?  If  you  have  infinite  power  like 
God  that  will  be  easy.  Can  you  do  it  ?  3 

god's  omniscience  compared  with  man's 

IGNORANCE  4 

“  Who  hath  put  wisdom  in  the  inward  parts  ?  Or 
who  hath  given  understanding  to  the  mind  ?  ”  Will 
any  amount  of  study  of  human  wisdom,  of  philosophy 
or  psychology,  enable  you  to  open  up  the  workings  of 
the  mind  of  man  and  comprehend  it?  If  you  are  a 
scientist  today,  perhaps  by  the  aid  of  Roentgen  rays, 
you  can  photograph  the  brain.  But  can  you  by  gazing 
at  the  surface  of  the  brain  tell  what  intellect  is  there, 
or  how  it  works  to  produce  thought?  Can  you  tell 
by  the  size  of  the  cranium,  whether  a  man  is  wise  or 
ignorant?  Coleridge  thought  he  was  a  reasonably  ac¬ 
curate  judge  of  the  mentality  of  men.  A  gentleman 
who  was  one  day  seated  opposite  to  him  at  dinner, 
possessed  a  magnificent  forehead,  and  a  fine  and  vener¬ 
able  bald  head.  The  eyes  of  this  patriarch  intimated 
the  fires  of  genius,  and  the  whole  bearing  of  the 


3  38:1-35.  4  38: 36-41;  39:1-4. 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


285 


man  was  suggestive  of  immense  capacity.  Coleridge 
thought,  if  he  would  but  speak  what  grand  things  we 
would  hear!  What  large  utterances  worthy  of  early 
dramatists !  What  poetry !  What  eloquence  and  truth 
and  thought !  Suddenly  the  gentleman  who  looked  so 
venerable  and  impressive  spoke ;  the  oracle  delivered  its 
burning  message,  and  to  this  effect :  “  Hand  me  them 
dumplins!  them’s  the  jockeys  for  me.”  What  a  poor 
judge  is  man,  even  having  all  the  outward  signs  of 
character,  in  appearance  and  bearing.  He  cannot  go 
within  and  read  the  operation  of  the  mind,  or  discern 
the  thoughts  of  man.  But  to  read  the  mind  is  as  sim¬ 
ple  for  the  omniscient  wisdom  of  God,  as  it  is  to  read 
the  lines  of  the  page  which  is  printed  to  record  men’s 
thoughts. 

God  challenged  Job  concerning  his  wisdom  in  nature. 
Who  can  number  the  clouds  by  wisdom  ?  Or  who  can 
pour  out  the  bottles  of  heaven?  Have  you  sufficient 
wisdom  to  explain  the  manner  in  which  the  clouds  are 
formed,  how  the  moisture  is  first  drawn  up  into  the  sky 
from  its  place  in  the  sea,  how  it  is  collected  in  clouds, 
and  how  at  a  certain  time  they  are  made  to  pour  out 
their  water  upon  the  earth?  Perhaps  some  one  says, 
though  Job  could  not  understand  it,  men  of  science 
have  explained  it  all  today  and  it  is  not  beyond  the 
wisdom  of  man.  Is  it  not?  Then  can  you  explain 
how,  in  the  same  locality  there  are  sometimes  dry  sea¬ 
sons,  and  sometimes  wet  ones  ?  Can  you  foretell  which 
will  be  the  dry  and  which  the  wet  season?  If  you 
could  do  so  you  could  become  independently  rich  within 
a  short  time.  Can  you  tell  why,  in  a  dry  season,  the 
clouds  will  float  over,  day  after  day,  and  month  after 
month,  without  pouring  forth  their  contents?  Why 
in  a  wet  season,  it  seems  as  though  a  cloud  scarcely 


286 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


appears  without  opening  its  windows  and  pouring 
forth  its  contents  upon  the  earth? 

Coming  down  to  the  ordinary  creatures  of  the  earth, 
can  you  plan  for  them?  Do  you  understand  all  that 
they  do,  ignorant  as  they  may  seem?  How  does  the 
lioness  hunt  for  the  prey?  Can  you  go  out  with  the 
same  sagacity  and  cunning  and  find  the  victim  for 
the  young  lions?  Or  could  you  search  the  earth  with 
the  same  keenness  of  vision  and  smell,  and  locate  the 
carcass  for  the  raven,  that  she  and  her  young  may  be 
fed  ?  Can  you  understand  the  manner  in  which  the  wild 
goats  live:  how  they  increase  in  number  and  grow? 
These  are  well  known  animals,  and  yet  man  cannot 
explain  their  life  and  methods  of  working  as  can  the 
Almighty.  He  knew  from  the  very  beginning,  and 
He  knows  every  one  today,  even  in  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth. 

Why  then  shall  Job,  or  any  of  his  kind,  be  restless, 
because  they  do  not  understand  the  greater  and  more 
wonderful  ways  of  God?  His  ways  with  man  are 
more  complex  than  in  nature.  Surely  we  will  stand  in 
awe  of  Him  and  not  claim  that  we  know  the  secrets  of 
His  counsels,  or  the  utmost  of  His  methods  of  work¬ 
ing.  If  when  He  chastens  we  do  not  see  His  object, 
let  us  never  doubt  His  just  purpose  in  it ;  if  it  is  simply 
to  try  our  hearts  it  is  well:  but  if  we  cannot  see  now 
as  we  look  through  a  glass  darkly,  let  us  patiently  wait 
until  we  shall  see  Him  face  to  face. 

god's  omnipotence  compared  with  man's 

WEAKNESS 

The  wild  animals  which  range  the  mountains,  are  no 
less  under  God’s  control  than  those  which  are  most 
domesticated.  But  how  can  man  control  the  wild  ass 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


287 


or  the  wild  ox?  Has  he  assigned  them  their  places? 
Can  he  trust  the  wild  ox  to  harrow  his  field,  or  can  he 
send  him  out  to  bring  in  the  ripened  grain?  God  not 
only  knows,  but  controls,  the  dwelling  of  each,  and 
directs  them  all  in  securing  their  food. 

Can  you  run  and  catch  the  ostrich,  which  scometh 
even  the  swift-footed  horse  of  the  desert?  Can  you 
direct  her,  or  change  her  habit  of  laying  her  eggs  in 
the  sand.  We  speak  of  such  habits  as  instinct:  but 
what  is  the  source  of  the  instinct  of  the  animal  ? 

Does  the  horse  owe  his  great  strength  to  you,  have 
you  clothed  his  neck  with  the  quivering  mane?  Have 
you  made  him  leap  as  the  locust,  and  made  his  snorting 
terrible  ?  Is  it  you  who  has  made  him  so  great  a  power 
in  war,  who  hast  made  him  to  scoff  at  the  danger  of  the 
arrow  or  the  spear?  Have  you  put  that  courage  into 
him  that  he  will  dash  forward  at  the  sound  of  the  trum¬ 
pet,  regardless  of  the  power  of  the  enemy  or  the  danger 
before  him  ?  Do  you  give  the  hawk  and  the  eagle  the 
strength  that  they  may  soar  far  and  high?  Have  you 
enabled  the  eagle  to  mount  up  beyond  the  clouds  and 
to  make  her  nest  upon  the  cliff,  out  of  reach  of  man 
and  beast? 

Is  it  you  who  gives  strength  to  those  two  great 
creatures,  among  the  most  powerful  of  God’s  creation, 
the  one  a  monster  of  the  land,  the  other  of  the  sea,  the 
behemoth  and  the  leviathan  ? — Supposed  to  be  the  hip- 
potamus  and  the  whale.  What  control  have  you  over 
the  great  behemoth,  with  his  tail  like  a  cedar  and  his 
bones  like  brass  and  his  muscles  like  bars  of  iron  ?  Can 
you  draw  out  the  whale  with  a  fishhook?  If  you  catch 
him  with  a  cord,  will  he  want  to  make  an  agreement 
with  you  at  once,  and  will  he  be  your  servant  forever  ? 
Will  you  take  him  and  play  with  him  as  a  little  bird,  or 


288 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


will  he  make  a  fine  toy  for  your  children?  Can  you 
approach  that  great  monster,  whose  skin  looks  like  cor¬ 
rugated  iron  and  who  makes  the  sea  like  a  boiling  pot 
about  him,  and  frighten  him  by  slinging  pebbles  at 
him?  Can  you  even  make  him  afraid  of  the  spears 
which  you  may  throw  at  him,  or  the  darts  which  would 
be  fatal  to  other  creatures?  There  is  no  monster  on 
earth  like  him,  if  you  can  make  a  pet  of  him,  then  you 
may  talk  of  your  power!  If  these  great  creatures 
which  are  so  strong  are  as  insects  in  the  hand  of  the 
Almighty,  why  should  man  attempt  to  oppose  him? 
What  power  has  he  in  his  presence  ? 

Before  God  had  finished  His  terrible  comparison, 
showing  how  even  nature  displays  His  marvelous 
power  and  His  eternal  wisdom,  Job  began  to  speak 
with  the  utmost  humility,  and  to  assert  that  he  was  of 
small  account  and  had  nothing  to  answer.  But  when 
God  had  finished,  he  was  humbler  still:  then  he  was 
ready  to  confess  that  God  could  do  all  things,  and  that 
no  purpose  of  His  can  be  restrained.  He  acknowl¬ 
edged  that  He  had  uttered  things  far  beyond  his  under¬ 
standing,  too  wonderful  for  him  that  he  knew  not,  and 
that  as  he  saw  himself  in  comparison  with  God  who 
is  good  and  gracious,  all-wise  and  powerful,  he  ab¬ 
horred  himself  and  was  ready  to  repent  in  dust  and 
ashes. 

No  sooner  had  Job  repented,  and  humbled  himself 
before  God,  giving  Him  all  the  honour  and  glory  in 
heaven  and  on  earth;  than  God  received  him  with  love 
and  tender  favour.  Then  God  made  him  intercessor 
on  behalf  of  those  other  servants  of  His,  who  had 
sinned  more  grievously  than  had  Job.  Eliphaz  and  his 
two  friends  were  told  to  go  to  Job  and  offer  up  a  burnt 
offering,  and  to  permit  Job  to  pray  for  them,  and  his 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


289 


petitions  would  be  acceptable  on  their  behalf,  for  he 
was  a  man  of  penitent  heart  and  true  faith. 

Thus  Job  forgave  those  who  had  misunderstood  and 
misrepresented  him,  and  who  had  made  his  misery 
greater  in  the  midst  of  trouble  already  overwhelming, 
and  prayed  for  them  with  sincerity  and  faith.  It  was 
long  before  Christ  had  appeared  upon  the  earth  and 
had  set  that  high  ideal :  “  Love  your  enemies,  pray  for 
them  which  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you.” 
But  with  that  spirit  in  his  heart,  Job  forgave  and 
sought  the  pardon  of  his  three  former  companions, 
who  had  caused  him  so  much  anguish.  It  was  also 
before  that  promise  had  been  given,  that  if  any  should 
leave  house  and  brethren  and  sisters  and  father  and 
mother  and  wife  and  children,  for  Christ’s  sake,  he 
should  receive  an  hundred  fold  now  in  this  present 
time,  and  in  the  world  to  come  everlasting  life.  God’s 
love  and  mercy  was  the  same,  as  He  dealt  with  the 
patriarchs,  and  He  gave  Job  twice  the  possessions 
which  he  had  before,  and  children  who  were  brighter 
and  more  charming  than  any  in  all  the  land.  The 
names  of  his  daughters  indicates  that  they  were  beau¬ 
tiful  and  lovely.  Moreover  Job’s  friends  were  ready 
to  do  him  honour  and  bring  him  gifts.  He  was  purer, 
greater,  wiser,  and  happier  than  he  was  before  his 
affliction.  “  The  Lord  blessed  the  latter  end  of  Job 
more  than  his  beginning.” 

THERE  ARE  Two  OR  THREE  EESSONS  WHICH  WE 

CANNOT  BUT  NOTE 

I.  It  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  find  fault  with  God's 
justice.  God  is  infinite,  eternal,  and  unchangeable  in 
His  justice,  and  for  weak,  mortal,  sinful  man  to  look 
upon  the  ways  of  God  and  find  fault  with  them,  is  to 


290 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


sin  against  Him.  God  could  cast  us  off  in  a  moment. 
He  could  blot  us  from  the  face  of  the  earth  as  He  did 
with  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram,  and  their  company. 
It  is  only  because  of  His  mercy  that  He  does  not ;  con¬ 
sequently  for  us  to  challenge  His  justice  rather  than 
plead  His  mercy,  is  to  endanger  the  provocation  of  His 
wrath.  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire.  It  is  a  fearful 
thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  an  angry  God. 

The  Lord  is  just  in  His  ways  all. 

And  holy  in  His  works  each  one. 

He’s  near  to  all  that  on  Him  call, 

Who  call  in  truth  on  Him  alone.”  5 

2.  However  careful  the  life  man  needs  to  repent . 
Job  had  been  among  the  most  godly  of  men.  His  piety 
is  quoted  as  an  example  to  generations  which  followed. 
Yet  temptation  and  weakness  and  suffering  caused  Job 
to  sin  and  to  speak  unwisely  in  the  presence  of  God. 
Good  as  he  had  been,  many  as  his  deeds  of  philan¬ 
thropy  had  been,  they  did  not  serve  to  justify  him 
before  God.  He  had  to  be  brought  to  see  his  sin,  and 
to  repent  with  the  deepest  humility,  and  utmost  sin¬ 
cerity,  ere  he  was  restored  to  the  favour  of  God. 
There  are  none  of  us  so  good  that  we  can  afford  to 
permit  one  day  to  pass,  without  humbling  ourselves 
before  God,  and  repenting  in  the  most  earnest  manner. 

j.  God  expects  His  people  to  live  in  faith.  If,  like 
Job,  they  cannot  see  the  end  of  suffering,  or  of  poverty, 
or  distress ;  they  ought  still  to  trust  God,  knowing  that 
He  can  see  farther  than  we,  and  His  plans  are  all 
arranged  to  the  very  end.  They  ought  still  to  trust, 
knowing  that  nothing  is  done  unwisely  or  carelessly, 
but  that  one  day  all  will  be  open  and  manifest.  One 


5  Psa.  145  : 17,  18. 


THE  GREAT  ARBITER 


291 


day  all  will  know  why  troubles  came  as  well  as  why 
joys  were  given.  In  the  meantime,  however  dark  to 
us  may  seem  the  plan  of  God,  let  us  still  trust.  God 
did  not  feel  called  upon,  either  before  or  after  Job’s 
repentance,  to  go  into  an  explanation  of  the  past  and 
of  the  future,  and  to  show  why  this  had  all  come  about. 
He  wanted  Job  to  know,  and  He  wants  us  to  know 
likewise,  that  we  should  submit  to  Him.  If  He  has 
no  other  reason  than  to  teach  us  submission,  He  may 
try  us  by  permitting  affliction  to  come.  We  owe  our 
very  lives  to  Him,  therefore  when  we  are  spared,  and 
our  souls  are  saved,  we  ought  to  be  exceedingly 
thankful. 

“  O  God,  whose  thunder  shakes  the  sky, 

Whose  eye  this  atom  globe  surveys, 

To  Thee,  my  only  rock,  I  fly, 

Thy  mercy  in  Thy  justice  praise. 

“  Thy  mystic  mazes  of  Thy  will, 

The  shadows  of  celestial  light, 

Are  past  the  powers  of  human  skill; 

But  what  the  Eternal  acts  is  right. 

“  O  teach  me  in  the  trying  hour, 

When  anguish  swells  the  dewy  tear, 

To  still  my  sorrows,  own  Thy  power, 

Thy  goodness  love,  Thy  justice  fear.” 


XXIII 

TRUE  REPENTANCE 
Job  42 : 6 


WHEN  the  wind  began  to  drive  across  the  plain 
of  Uz,  the  lightning  to  flash,  and  the  thunder 
to  roll;  and  when  from  the  midst  of  the 
whirlwind  God  began  to  speak  to  Job,  and  to  rebuke 
him  with  the  most  scathing  irony,  Job  listened  with 
humble  and  rapt  attention.  Whether  the  other  friends 
heard  the  voice  which  spoke  to  Job  or  not,  we  are  not 
informed.  If  they  heard,  they,  like  Job,  did  not  dare 
to  make  reply  except  in  humble  supplication.  Even  if 
they  did  not  hear  the  voice  of  God,  they  must  have 
observed  a  change  come  over  Job.  Whatever  traces 
of  haughtiness  or  rebellion  there  were,  rapidly  with¬ 
ered  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God. 

It  is  said  that  Chromatius,  a  heathen,  sought  a  cure 
from  one  of  the  early  Christians  who  was  reputed  to 
have  the  gift  of  healing.  As  a  condition,  he  demanded 
that  all  the  idols  in  his  house  should  be  broken.  The 
heathen  gave  his  keys  to  the  Christian,  who  went  about 
the  house,  and  destroyed  all  the  idols  he  could  find, 
and  then  began  to  pray  for  the  desired  cure;  but  in 
vain.  The  Christian  said :  “  There  is  yet  an  idol  in  your 
house,  that  must  be  destroyed.”  The  heathen  con¬ 
fessed  that  he  had  one  of  beaten  gold,  of  great  value, 
which  he  desired  to  save.  When  it  was  broken  Chro¬ 
matius  was  healed. 

There  are  those  who  profess  an  abhorrence  of  sin, 

292 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


293 


and  by  their  outward  actions  seem  to  abhor  themselves 
because  of  it.  When  it  nears  the  season  of  the  year 
when  Jesus  was  put  to  death  they  may  be  very  active 
in  doing  penance.  They  go  out  with  whips  and  lash 
themselves  over  the  back  until  the  blood  flows.  They 
take  up  great  crosses  and  bear  them  on  their  naked 
shoulders.  They  walk  with  bare  feet  over  rough  and 
stony  ground,  or  through  stubble,  and  even  over  cactus. 
It  is  all  done  with  great  solemnity.  As  one  sees  them 
at  it,  he  may  think  that  they  are  really  sorry  for  their 
sins,  until  he  sees  them  back  at  the  same  old  sins  with 
as  much  abandon  as  ever,  shortly  afterwards.  They 
call  themselves  Penitentees,  but  they  evidently  perform 
penance  with  the  intention  of  going  into  sin  again  as 
soon  as  Lent  is  over.  There  is  a  world  of  difference 
between  their  state  of  mind  and  that  of  Job.  They  are 
spurred  on  to  it,  partly  through  ignorance,  partly 
through  fear,  and  partly  through  custom.  Between 
such  forms  of  penance  and  the  reality  of  true  repent¬ 
ance  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed.  There  is  an  old  prov¬ 
erb:  “  Whom  the  gods  destroy,  they  first  make  mad.” 
We  might  suggest  another  and  more  hopeful  one: 
Whom  God  saves,  He  makes  to  abhor  himself  as  a 
sinner. 

A  CORRECT  VIEW  OE  GOD  IS  CALCULATED  TO  MAKE 
ONE  HUMBLE  and  penitent 

Job  was  a  good  man  before  his  affliction.  He  loved 
God,  he  trusted  in  Him  for  forgiveness,  he  turned 
away  from  evil,  he  was  kind  to  his  friends  and  to  all 
about  him  who  were  in  need.  He  sought  the  spiritual 
as  well  as  the  temporal  welfare  of  his  children.  But 
Job,  goaded  on  by  others,  had  made  many  rash  and 
impious  statements  during  his  suffering.  He  needed  a 


294. 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


new  vision :  he  needed  to  be  brought  face  to  face  with 
God  again  that  he  might  see  the  reflection  of  his  own 
wicked  heart,  and  abhor  himself  in  His  sight.  God 
showed  Job  that  if  he  had  even  made  a  careful  ob¬ 
servation  of  the  wonders  of  nature,  he  would  have  had 
no  reason  to  feel  independent  or  self-sufficient.  When 
once  face  to  face  with  God,  his  attitude  was  wholly 
changed. 

So  it  has  ever  been :  sin  hides  its  face  in  the  presence 
of  God.  When  the  Lord  appeared  to  Adam  and  Eve 
in  the  garden  of  Eden,  they  tried  to  hide  from  Him, 
because  they  knew  they  were  sinners.  They  did  not 
want  to  face  God,  they  knew  that  He  was  holy  and 
abhorred  sin. 

When  Isaiah  saw  a  vision  of  God  sitting  upon  His 
throne,  high  and  lifted  up:  when  he  saw  the  seraphims 
veiling  their  faces  before  Him:  when  he  heard  them 
cry  out,  “  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  the 
whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory  ” :  and  when  he  saw 
the  great  pillars  of  the  temple  shake  in  His  presence; 
then  he  cried,  “  Woe  is  me!  for  I  am  undone;  because 
I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of 
a  people  of  unclean  lips:  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the 
King,  the  Lord  of  hosts.”  1 

Moses  feared  and  hid  his  face,  when  he  saw  the  bush 
that  was  not  consumed,  in  which  was  the  manifestation 
of  the  presence  of  God.  Moses  was  a  good  man,  far 
above  the  average  in  purity  of  heart  and  nearness  to 
God,  and  yet  he  was  abashed  in  His  presence.  Joshua 
was  a  fearless  warrior.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  lead 
the  people  over  the  Jordan  to  make  an  attack  on  the 
stronghold  of  the  Canaanites.  When  he  had  gone  out 
alone  and  was  taking  in  the  situation  and  drawing  up 


1  Isa.  6  . 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


295 


his  plans,  a  man  appeared  near  him.  He  was  not 
afraid  of  an  encounter,  and  demanded  of  him  whether 
he  was  for  Israel  or  against  them.  But  so  soon  as 
Joshua  learned  that  the  man  was  the  Captain  of  the 
Lord’s  host,  he  fell  upon  his  face,  prostrated  in  God’s 
presence.  When  a  man  appeared  to  Gideon,  as  he 
threshed  wheat,  he  was  not  afraid,  even  though  he 
knew  that  the  enemy  was  lurking  about.  But  when  the 
man  departed  and  Gideon  knew  that  he  was  the  angel 
of  God,  then  he  feared  and  said :  “  Alas  O  Lord  God, 
for  because  I  have  seen  an  angel  of  the  Lord  face 
to  face.” 

Even  the  devils  feared  and  trembled  in  the  presence 
of  Jesus.  The  sense  of  the  presence  of  God  causes 
man  to  fear.  God  purposed  to  humble  Job,  and  to 
show  him  the  need  of  repentance,  when  He  appeared  to 
him  out  of  the  whirlwind  and  rebuked  him  so  severely 
as  He  did.  It  would  be  well  for  us,  if  we  should  never 
become  so  self-satisfied,  or  good  in  our  own  sight,  that 
we  would  fail  to  exercise  the  spirit  of  humility,  and  to 
view  ourselves  as  mere  worms  of  the  dust  in  the  sight 
of  our  God,  who  is  holy  and  pure,  and  who  cannot 
look  upon  sin  but  with  the  greatest  abhorrence. 

A  CORRECT  VIEW  OE  GOD  WIDE  PRODUCE  WHAT  NO 
ARGUMENT  CAN  IN  CAUSING  PENITENCE 
AND  HUMIDITY 

Job’s  friends  had  sat  for  days,  and  perhaps  for 
weeks,  arguing  with  him  concerning  his  own  physical 
and  moral  condition,  and  attempting  to  persuade  him 
to  take  a  different  view  of  life:  but  they  only  irritated 
him  and  accomplished  nothing.  It  only  took  a  moment 
in  the  presence  of  God,  to  effect  what  all  the  argument 
of  the  best  minds  of  his  day  could  not  do. 


296 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


A  well-to-do  traveling  salesman  was  an  unbeliever. 
He  had  been  what  is  known  as  a  good  moral  man. 
He  was  generous.  He  had  helped  to  educate  a  young 
man  who  was  converted  from  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  who  is  now  a  well  known  minister  of  the  Gos¬ 
pel.  In  cities  or  towns  where  he  stopped,  he  was  ac¬ 
customed  to  attend  church  on  the  Lord’s  day.  He 
listened  to  the  sermons  which  were  preached,  but  he 
thought  he  could  answer  every  argument  that  was  pro¬ 
duced.  None  of  the  noted  ministers  to  whom  he  had 
listened  had  been  able  to  convince  him.  But  one  day 
in  a  young  people’s  convention,  he  heard  an  old  woman, 
who  arose  and  out  of  a  full  heart  gave  a  short  testi¬ 
mony  of  what  God  had  done  for  her :  how  He  had 
always  been  her  support  and  had  ever  proved  faithful 
to  her,  and  she  had  confidence  that  He  would  never 
forsake  her.  The  message  seemed  to  open  to  him  the 
love  of  God  and  His  mercy,  he  saw  that  there  was  an 
earnestness  and  a  genuineness  in  her  which  he  could 
not  doubt  or  reason  away.  He  gave  himself  to  Christ 
and  went  home  a  changed  man.  When  he  reached 
home  it  was  not  easy  for  him  to  break  the  news  to  his 
wife  and  family,  for  he  had  always  ridiculed  religion. 
He  had  never  asked  the  blessing  at  meals,  and  had 
never  conducted  family  worship.  But  when  he  sat 
down  with  his  family  to  dine,  and  bowed  his  head  and 
asked  God’s  blessing  upon  his  home  and  the  food  of 
which  they  were  about  to  partake,  his  wife  and  children 
sat  in  astonishment.  Then  he  told  them  all  about  the 
change  that  had  come  over  him,  and  how  he  had  gotten 
a  correct  view  of  God,  as  a  result  of  the  old  woman’s 
testimony,  though  no  eloquent  argument  had  affected 
him  before. 

The  late  Chas.  G.  Finney  was  reared  in  an  irreligious 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


297 


home.  It  was  not  untjl  he  reached  manhood  and  left 
home,  that  he  heard  much  about  religion.  When  he 
did  hear  different  ministers  preach,  even  after  he  be¬ 
came  a  lawyer  and  began  to  analyze  their  sermons,  they 
did  not  make  much  of  an  impression  upon  him.  He 
studied  his  Bible  in  connection  with  his  practice  of  law, 
until  he  knew  it  quite  well,  still  he  was  not  convinced. 
Not  until  the  Spirit  of  God  began  to  move  upon  his 
heart  and  made  him  feel  that  he  was  a  great  sinner: 
that  he  was  about  to  die,  and  if  he  did  he  would  sink 
down  to  hell  unless  he  sought  God  earnestly.  When  he 
was  on  his  way  to  his  law  office  one  day,  an  inward 
voice  said  to  him:  “What  are  you  waiting  for?  Did 
you  not  promise  to  give  your  heart  to  God  ?  And  what 
are  you  trying  to  do  ?  Are  you  endeavouring  to  work 
out  a  righteousness  of  your  own?”  Then  God  re¬ 
vealed  to  him  the  reality  and  fulness  of  the  atonement 
of  Christ.  He  saw  that  in  place  of  needing  any  right¬ 
eousness  of  his  own  to  recommend  him  to  God,  he 
needed  to  trust  only  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ. 
What  the  arguments  of  able  men,  reasoning  before  an 
analytical  mind,  could  not  do,  God  could  do  in  a  mo¬ 
ment  when  He  revealed  Himself  to  him.  He  went  out 
to  the  woods  to  pray,  and  there  opened  his  heart  to 
God.  He  was  ashamed  of  being  seen  by  any  one  at 
first,  but  God  gave  him  the  conviction  and  the  humility 
to  cry  out  before  Him.  He  says  in  his  autobiography: 
“  An  overwhelming  sense  of  my  wickedness  in  being 
ashamed  to  have  a  human  being  see  me  upon  my  knees 
before  God  took  such  a  powerful  possession  of  me,  that 
I  cried  at  the  top  of  my  voice  and  exclaimed  that  I 
would  not  leave  that  place  if  all  the  men  on  earth  and 
all  the  devils  in  hell  surrounded  me.”  Thus  he  cried 
out :  “  What  such  a  degraded  sinner  as  I  am,  upon  my 


298 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


knees  confessing  my  sins  to  the  great  and  holy  God; 
and  ashamed  to  have  any  human  being,  and  a  sinner 
like  myself,  find  me  on  my  knees  endeavouring  to  make 
my  peace  with  my  offended  God !  The  sin  appeared  to 
me  awful,  infinite.  It  broke  me  down  before  the 
Lord.” 

The  presence  of  God  is  just  as  dreadful  as  ever  in 
the  past.  The  Spirit  of  God  reveals  the  truth  to  men 
as  He  ever  has  done.  The  voice  of  man,  or  well  ar¬ 
ranged  arguments,  can  never  make  a  sinner  truly 
humble:  but  when  God  reveals  to  man  his  sin,  he  sees 
himself  abhorrent  in  his  sight. 

ONE  IS  IN  A  HOPEEUIv  STATE  WHEN  HE  SEES 
HIMSELE  VIDE  beeore  GOD 

Job  did  what  was  natural  for  one  to  do  in  his  day, 
to  sit  in  the  ashes,  or  to  throw  ashes  over  his  head  as  a 
sign  of  great  grief.  In  the  days  of  Darius  when  Dan¬ 
iel  was  praying  to  God  on  behalf  of  Israel’s  release,  he 
sought  God  “  by  prayer  and  supplications,  with  fast¬ 
ings,  and  sackcloth,  and  ashes.”  When  the  king  of 
Nineveh  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  he  sat  in 
sackcloth  and  ashes.  In  our  day  it  is  the  custom  for 
the  mourner  to  wear  black,  that  the  external  appearance 
may  correspond  with  that  which  is  supposed  to  exist  in 
the  heart.  In  times  gone  by,  sorrow  was  usually  ex¬ 
pressed  by  disfiguring  the  appearance  as  much  as 
possible. 

The  outward  appearance  of  repentance,  or  fasting, 
however,  never  clears  the  heart  of  any  sin.  The  at¬ 
tempt  to  cover  inward  pride  by  outward  forms  of 
humiliation,  was  so  disgusting  to  Jesus,  that  He  said 
to  the  Pharisees,  when  they  fasted  they  should  shave 
as  usual,  wash  their  faces,  and  act  outwardly  as  at 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


299 


other  times.  He  told  them  that  they  were  fasting  for 
the  benefit  of  men,  not  of  God.  When  one  is  proud, 
or  indifferent  to  sin,  he  is  in  a  very  serious  state  of 
mind.  When  he  is  merely  formal  in  apparent  repent¬ 
ance,  he  is  still  in  just  as  serious  a  condition.  But 
when,  like  the  Publican,  he  sees  himself  vile,  and  cries 
out  for  mercy,  he  has  gotten  very  near  to  God. 

Job  was  in  a  far  more  hopeful  state,  when  he  fell 
down  before  God  and  abhorred  himself  in  dust  and 
ashes,  than  when  he  was  defying  the  arguments  of 
his  friends. 

Isaiah  told  the  people  that  the  forms  which  they  were 
observing  of  fasting,  and  of  making  many  prayers, 
made  them  more  abhorrent  in  the  sight  of  God,  when 
there  was  nothing  in  their  professed  humility.  “  The 
calling  of  assemblies,  I  cannot  away  with:  it  is  in¬ 
iquity,  even  the  solemn  meeting.  Your  new  moons 
and  your  appointed  feasts  my  soul  hateth:  they  are  a 
trouble  unto  me ;  I  am  weary  to  bear  them.  And  when 
ye  spread  forth  your  hands  I  will  hide  mine  eyes  from 
you ;  yea,  when  ye  make  many  prayers,  I  will  not  hear : 
your  hands  are  full  of  blood.  Wash  you,  make  you 
clean;  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from  before 
mine  eyes ;  cease  to  do  evil ;  learn  to  do  well ;  seek  judg¬ 
ment,  relieve  the  oppressed;  judge  the  fatherless;  plead 
for  the  widow.  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together, 
saith  the  Lord :  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they 
shall  be  as  white  as  snow;  though  they  be  red  like 
crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.”  2  It  is  the  contrition 
of  the  heart  and  the  humility  of  the  soul,  that  God 
desires,  so  that  we  may  see  ourselves  vile  before  Him : 
then  He  offers  divine  blessings. 

Saul  of  Tarsus  was  in  a  more  hopeful  state,  after  he 


2  Isa.  1 : 13-18. 


300 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


had  been  struck  down  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  and 
went  about  blind  seeking  some  one  to  show  him  the 
way :  than  when  he  was  marching  proudly  up  and  down 
the  land  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter,  and 
receiving  the  plaudits  of  men  for  it. 

Peter  was  in  a  more  hopeful  state  when  our  Lord 
turned  and  looked  on  him,  reminding  him  that  in  the 
face  of  His  warning  he  had  denied  his  blessed  Master. 
That  look  brought  bitter  tears,  it  is  true,  but  it  was 
better  than  sitting  as  a  haughty  enemy  of  Christ,  and 
attempting  to  avoid  trouble  by  denying  Him. 

John  Bunyan  was  in  a  more  hopeful  state  when  the 
Spirit  of  God  spoke  to  him,  and  seemed  to  say:  “  Wilt 
thou  leave  thy  sins  and  go  to  heaven,  or  have  thy  sins 
and  go  to  hell,”  and  he  began  to  abhor  himself;  than 
when  as  a  frivolous,  profane  young  man,  his  crowd 
thought  he  was  a  boon  companion  and  a  jolly  sport. 

A  nun  or  a  priest  is  in  a  far  more  hopeful  state,  who 
lays  aside  the  black  robes,  and  in  place  of  showing  an 
outward  form  of  humility  and  penitence,  goes  to  God 
through  Christ,  in  the  utmost  abhorrence  of  self,  call¬ 
ing  upon  him  for  forgiveness  and  grace.  So  with 
every  one  of  us.  Let  us  lay  aside  forms  and  pretences 
of  worship,  and  let  us  bow  before  God,  great  sinners 
that  we  are,  and  as  we  see  our  souls  in  the  blackness 
and  darkness  of  sin,  let  us  call  upon  Him  to  cleanse  us 
with  His  blood,  and  cover  us  with  the  pure  robe  of 
Christ’s  righteousness. 

IT  IS  DUE  TO  THE  MERCY  OE  GOD  THAT  HE  SHOWS 

MEN  THEMSEUVES 

God  might  have  cut  Job  off  when  he  would  not  hear 
Elihu,  and  when  he  did  not  repent,  after  his  admoni¬ 
tion:  but  he  did  not.  God  was  merciful,  He  appeared 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


301 


to  Job  Himself,  and  spoke  from  out  of  the  storm, 
that  Job  might  be  led  to  repent  and  find  mercy. 
God  is  under  no  obligation  to  any  of  us,  or  to  those 
who  have  gone  before,  to  show  mercy.  But  out  of 
His  loving  heart,  because  He  is  more  ready  to  for¬ 
give  than  we  are  to  seek  forgiveness,  He  brings  us  to 
the  place  of  repentance,  where  we  may  find  mercy 
and  grace. 

It  is  said  of  Alexander,  that  when  he  encamped 
before  a  city,  he  used  to  set  up  a  light,  to  give  notice  to 
those  within  that,  if  they  came  forth  to  him  while  that 
light  lasted,  they  should  have  quarter:  if  otherwise,  no 
mercy  was  to  be  expected.  God  sets  up  light  after 
light,  and  waits  year  after  year,  and  earnestly  invites 
men  to  come  unto  Him,  that  they  may  have  life. 
Christ  stands  at  the  door  and  knocks,  if  you  will  let 
Him  in,  He  will  show  you  your  own  heart,  and  you 
will  then  see  its  need  of  cleansing. 

A  young  woman  was  presented  with  a  beautiful  silk 
handkerchief,  by  a  friend.  By  accident  she  overturned 
the  inkstand  upon  it,  as  it  lay  upon  the  table,  and 
spotted  it  badly.  Her  husband  came  in  and  saw  her 
distressed  look,  and  smilingly  took  the  handkerchief 
from  her.  He  was  an  artist.  He  went  to  his  study 
and  set  to  work  upon  the  blot,  and  later  returned  with 
the  handkerchief  to  her.  “  Oh !  ”  she  said,  “  that  is  not 
my  handkerchief.”  “  Yes,  it  is  yours.”  “Mine?” 
“  Yes,  I  simply  took  the  ugly  blot  and  transformed  it 
into  a  picture.”  How  often  God  has  done  that  if  we 
could  only  see  it.  He  has  taken  our  blotted  life  when 
we  have  been  sorely  disappointed,  or  have  sinned  griev¬ 
ously  against  Him,  so  that  we  have  thought  we  would 
have  to  go  marred  all  our  life,  and  has  handed  it  back 
with  the  marred  background,  transformed  into  a 


302 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


picture.  It  is  not  that  we  deserve  it,  or  that  He  owes 
us  anything,  but  He  does  it  out  of  His  great  love 
and  mercy. 

AN  ABHORRENCE  OE  SIN  IS  EOEEOWED  BY  TURNING 

EROM  IT 

No  sooner  did  Job  see  that  he  had  sinned,  and  that 
he  was  impure  in  the  sight  of  God,  than  he  began  to 
confess,  and  seek  forgiveness.  He  did  not  go  back  to 
the  condition  in  which  he  had  been.  He  feared  God 
and  turned  away  from  evil. 

When  Peter  was  led  to  abhor  himself,  and  to  weep 
bitterly  because  of  his  denial  of  Christ,  he  walked  more 
regularly  and  resolutely  afterward.  In  later  years 
Peter  did  not  retract  because  of  danger  from  a  perse¬ 
cuting  official,  or  a  court  of  justice,  or  a  prison  cell. 
He  would  not  deny  his  Lord  even  when  he  was  con¬ 
fronted  with  the  terrible  death  of  the  cross.  He  was 
ever  ready  to  hearken  unto  God  rather  than  man. 
When  Paul  repented,  he  was  never  again  found  with 
the  scoffing  or  persecuting  crowd.  He  was  willing  to 
live  a  dying  life,  in  order  that  he  might  walk  continu¬ 
ally  with  God  and  not  disgrace  his  Lord  and  Master: 
whose  he  was  and  whom  he  served.  Pilgrim’s  Prog¬ 
ress  is,  to  a  large  extent,  a  picture  of  the  life  of  the 
author.  When  Bunyan  had  once  made  the  right  start 
in  the  Christian  life,  tempted,  and  persecuted  and  im¬ 
prisoned,  though  he  was,  he  said  that  he  had  a  gladness 
of  heart  and  a  tranquility  of  soul  that  was  always  with 
him  in  the  midst  of  his  suffering.  If  temporarily  he 
turned  aside,  and  got  into  a  pitfall,  yet  he  never  for¬ 
sook  his  Lord  or  turned  back  from  following  Him, 
until  death.  After  Adoniram  Judson  had  left  the 
stage  and  the  old  life  behind,  he  never  wanted  to  turn 


TRUE  REPENTANCE 


303 


back,  though  in  the  service  of  Christ,  he  endured 
months  of  the  most  cruel  torture. 

God  is  never  satisfied  with  us  if  we  merely  have 
certain  days  of  doing  penance.  He  is  never  satisfied 
with  a  season  of  revival  in  our  individual  lives,  or  in 
the  church,  no  matter  what  the  show  of  humility  may 
be ;  unless  we  continue  to  trust  in  Him  with  unwaver¬ 
ing  faith,  and  walk  with  Him  in  our  everyday  life. 
May  God  grant  that  we  shall  each  have  deep  experi¬ 
ences,  which  shall  reveal  to  us  our  sinful  state:  but 
that  when  we  have  been  forgiven,  and  have  begun  to 
walk  with  Him,  we  shall  not  turn  back,  or  hesitate  to 
follow  wherever  He  leads;  even  though  it  may  be 
through  the  dark  valley. 

“  ’Tis  the  Master  who  holds  the  chisel. 

He  knows  just  where 

Its  edge  should  be  driven  sharpest, 

To  fashion  there 

The  semblance  that  He  is  carving; 

Nor  will  He  let 

One  delicate  stroke  too  many, 

Or  few,  be  set 

On  forehead  or  cheek,  where  only 
He  sees  how  all 

Is  tending — and  where  the  hardest 
The  blow  should  fall, 

Which  crumbles  away  whatever 
Superfluous  line 

Would  hinder  His  hand  from  making 
The  work  divine.” 


Printed,  in  the  United  States  of  America 


> 


Date  Due 


Trn>r 


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da  1 7  “■* 


0  26  ^ 


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faculjy 


AMI 


S£  -  E  '53 


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JUL2  4H8 


